Requiem of Rain
by NikoLeto
Summary: A Squalo story. Why does the rain pour when bad things happen? Why does the sky weep when someone dies? When the sky sees sadness it fills the land with water, and a special eulogy, a requiem of rain. Rating changes to M ch6  for Squalo's swearing.
1. Child Little Child

**Requiem of Rain**

_A Katekyo Hitman Reborn Fanfiction_

Nico: Hello, and welcome to the very first fanfiction since I came back! Uh, what can I say? This is a story I came up with recently while listening to Superbia Squalo's character song: Chinkonka no Ame (probably my favourite character song now), and it was raining so the story came to my mind. I hope you enjoy, ye who reads this story. Oh, and this story doesn't have much to do with the original story, I just thought it'd be fun.

**I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

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**Child Little Child**

_"Pure madness."_

"Squalo~ Come on, let's go~!" I felt the tug on my sleeve as my younger sister leaned back onto her heels, tugging me with her weight, which wasn't much. She whined out loud, and the horrible noise that came from her throat overpowered the sound of the television.

"Voi! Leave me alone, brat," I yelled, tugging my arm sleeve back. "Can't you see I'm busy?" My idiot sister was bratty. She always got what she wanted whenever she wanted. If she didn't she'd let out a horrible cry that would overwhelm a thousand banshees.

We were out shopping with mother. Mother left me and my sister in the electronics section, while she busied herself in the clothing department. There was a sale on school uniforms, and my sister and I were being enrolled into some private school. I dreaded the entire idea, not only was I going to leave my only friend, but I had to have classes with a bunch of snobby rich kids. I don't understand it though. How did my mother ever earn so much money to enroll the both of us?

I perished the thought as soon as we went to the televisions. We didn't have one at home and I was completely mesmerized by the band that played on the screen. There was a CD beside the television, I picked it up. Their music was so…deep. The CD cover had a picture of a "soul" with two arrows around it. It read "Resonant Cadence, Music that Moves the INNER Soul." Man, it was right. I couldn't stop listening; it was as if the song was taking over me.

"Squalo!" my little sister stomped on my foot.

"Ow! Voooi!" What did you do that for, you little brat?" I asked, snarling and baring my teeth at her. Kids at my school say that I resemble a shark. My friend, Keith didn't really think so though. He was sort of...an air-head. He always had this stupid smile on his face, and he never overlooked anyone. He was kind to everyone, even me. He's too naive, and makes friends with everyone. Really, I've overheard other students complain that he's annoying and question his gender. I wonder if he knows.

"I want to go look at the animal toys!" the mammon incarnate placed her hands on her hips. She had learned that from seeing it on one of our walks. I would gut the broad who taught her that…

"You mean the little plastic bobble heads with over-sized heads? Forget it! Mother will never buy you one, they're overpriced and glamorized trash!" Really, I hated going to the toy section for those things. There would always be a crowd of girls begging their mothers for two, or three, or more. My idiot sister was an ignorant subject of commercial advertising. She sees a poster, and she wants it. She falls for the glamorizing technique and instantly wants whatever is being sold.

Then I saw the tear, and the pouted lip. Oh crud. I took a step back. "Voi, Avarice, don't start with the waterworks…" I reasoned but with no avail…

"WAAAAH!" I jammed my hands to my ears. Damn, people think _I'm_ noisy, they've never met my dumbass sister!

After a minute had passed I had enough. "Alright! All, freaking, right! I'll take you to the toy section for the stupid animal bobbing head trash!"Avarice stopped immediately. She smiled as she grabbed my long sleeve and dragged me to my doom. Yes, I know I said _I_ would take her. However, really I meant _she_ was allowed to force me there…

It was the same as ever. The condensed isle was crowded with girls and their mothers, grabbing for the animal toys. "Mama, I want that one!" "Mom, can you buy me this one?" "No Momma, not that one, _that_ one!" It was killing my ears.

Avarice quickly joined the huddle of girls. I could sight her easily from the others; she was the only one without the expensive looking clothes. I could still hear the song Resonant Cadence played, over the squeals and begs of little girls.

"_Child little child where have you been?_

_Your blood is boiling beneath your skin,_

_Don't let your patience run down thin,_

_Now it's time to unleash the beast within."_

The lyrics sent shivers down my spine. It sounded as if it was speaking to me. Oh the very thought of running. Leaving my life, and finding a better one. It's too good to be true, but I wish to were.

* * *

"That looks good on you, Squalo," mother said holding up the uniform in front of my body. It was…gray. Yes, it was a dress shirt underneath a thin coat, dress pants, belt, and a pair of durable black dress shoes, however it was so bland. It mixed with my silver hair, and my pale skin. Ugh, seeing myself in it was discomforting.

"I hate it," I said simply.

"Squalo..." my mother said. "This is the best we can afford..."

"If it cost so much money, then why are you enrolling Avarice and I to a _private_ school? They're expensive, and if you let us stay in our current schools, you wouldn't have to spend so much money!" She said nothing. She just folded up the clothes and placed them in the wardrobe, beside all the others clothes we had.

"Mama~!" Avarice's voice rang out. "Can I go play with my friends?" I scoffed. Avarice was seven years old, but there were times I hear her as a spoiled sixteen year old tramp.

"Yes, sweetie," mother said heading over to the kitchen. I walked over to the window and watched as Avarice and six other girls hurried off down the streets. Although she was annoying as hell, and she really didn't deserve a majority of what she got, I still worried for her. She was innocent to some extent, and her naivety towards lies could get her into some trouble. Yes, she was loud, inconsiderate, and naive, but she was my sister, and whether I liked it or not, I _had_ to care for her.

Avarice was born three years after I was; I was ten, she was seven. My mother told me that I also had an older brother, but he died of a miscarriage. She told me his name was Gideon, because she always imagined him as a heroic warrior. My mother did many odd jobs, some sewing, some stacking, some cooking, and some cleaning. She always came home tired.

My father on the other hand...was a bastard. I hate him. Avarice and mother loved him though. He would come sometimes and dazzle them with gifts. However, everything comes with a price. For their gifts, he had to take a large amount of mother's pay, without her knowing. Also, for some reason whenever we were alone he would beat me. He said that I had the same eyes as his father, and he hated his father; I guess it must run in the family.

A while after Avarice left, I had gotten bored. Unlike rich people, we didn't have much to waste our time on, and Avarice and I were too young to work. I sighed and grabbed my jacket from the wardrobe and headed to the door. "Mother! I'm going for a walk!"

"Be back before supper!" I heard her yell back.

"Okay!" I said and opened the door for my leave. You've probably noticed, I never say "Voi" to my mother. I don't know why, I just don't.

I locked the door behind me and headed off. The village was always filled with noise of some sort. People laughing at jokes, children crying, mothers humming, father's chuckling, bird's chirping, dogs barking, and cat mewling. It wasn't just the sounds, but the sights and smells. On the pathways, on both sides of the road, were poles holding up baskets of flowers, giving off a welcoming fragrance. On both sides of the road were shops and restaurants. There was a bookstore, the owner was a very strange person who always wanted his customers to pay in cash. There was an antique store, the store owner was very strict with his "break it and buy it" rule; he wasn't really the one to accept any tomfoolery anyways. There was a clothing store, the owner was a divorced mother with a son of her own. There was also a sushi restaurant. I never go in, since sushi is expensive, but whenever I pass by I see the same boy lounging around as he ate.

"Ciao, Squalo!" I recognized the voice. A boy with long black hair appeared before me. He was some crazy half breed of an Italian and a Chinese. His hair was too long for a guy's. It was in fact tied in a high ponytail, and reached his shoulders.

"Voi, Hey, Keith," I said. Keith smiled back. Keith was an orphan. He was separated from his parents at birth and now he was living in a foster home with other orphaned boys. I saw a big difference between Keith and the other orphaned boys. All the other orphaned boys were rebels. They hated their lives, they hated their parents for leaving them, they hated the foster house, they hated the people who came in and never took them out of their nightmare, they hated it all. Keith was different from everyone else. He was always smiling and happy. Instead of seeing the bad in people, he always saw the good points of people. Keith however still wishes he could meet his real parents one day. "Voi, you look like a girl..."

Keith only smiled. "Ha-ha! You know why I keep it long." Did I ever... Keith made this stupid promise to himself; until he finally met his family, he would never cut his hair. It sounds real stupid if you ask me.

"Isn't it hard to wash so much hair?" I asked. "I don't understand how girls, and you, can stand it."

"It's not _that_ hard," Keith said. Keith and I walked around the village for a two hours. We stopped by at the many locations.

"Pay in cash or get your ass out of here," the cloaked store owner scowled at the customers holding the book they wished to buy. The book store was nice. Keith and I would look at a couple books.

"Get out of my store you little no-good, butter-fingered, trolls!" the antique store owner yelled when he saw us at the door. It was a wonder how a children-hater could have a son. Keith and I had noticed how the antique store had many umbrellas.

"Ah, hello, Squalo, Keith, my you two are looking handsome!" the clothing store owner smiled. She had this strange habit of flattering men. Her hair was dyed in many colors and tied into four short pigtails(1). My mother sometimes worked at the clothing store.

"One day, when we get the money," Kieth said. "Let's come here and eat until our tummies are full! I've always wanted to try otoro(2)." We had just passed the sushi restaurant. Once again there was that kid again. He was looked about my sister's age as he leaned back in his chair, resting his boots on the table as he grabbed a piece of sushi, dipped it in a small dish and popped the entire piece into his mouth.

After the two hours, we separated, I left for my house, and he left for his foster home. Sometimes, I wondered if Keith was fighting back tears and rage whenever he entered the foster home. Losing your parents, or having your parents abandon you, that's really harsh for a little kid. So I can see why a lot of the orphaned boys are thuggish, but Keith sticks out like a lit light bulb surrounded by unlit ones. I wondered, does Keith sometimes feel how the others feel?

* * *

When I returned home my mother, Avarice, and I all sat down for supper. It was mainly opened canned food. There was fish in a ketchup sauce that tasted nice, sausages in a chicken broth, fish with peppers, SPAM, pieces of corn, peas, cut up pieces of green beans, cubes of carrots, and for desert we each had a can of fruit.

"Blech! Mama, this is too salty!" Avarice complained over the sausages. Canned food usually had a salty tang to them, I didn't mind.

"Just set it in some water, dear," mother said.

"Then it'll be soggy~!" Avarice whined.

"Be quiet! No yelling at the dinner table. If you don't want your sausage than give it to me!" I said piercing the meat with my fork.

"No it's mine!" Avarice yelled and took my fork.

"Voi! Give that back you brat!" I reached out for my fork. She stuck her tongue at me before she ate the entire sausage and kept my fork. I growled as I took my knife and used it as a substitute for my fork. I had no problem with stabbing the contents of the can to vex my anger.

There was a knock on the door and my mother, who had barely eaten anything got up to answer. Avarice waved my fork in front of me. "I bet you want your fork back!"

"Shut up, brat," I said. "I can make do with a knife." Although my tone was...rather calm, I had also stabbed the strawberry in my fruit can.

"Liar, liar, you can't hide your desire~" Avarice rolled her tongue at the last word. Avarice was always bragging how she was talented. One, she could roll her tongue and whistle. Two, she got excellent grades. Three, she was adorable in the eyes of every adult. Four, she was a wonderful dancer and had a bunch of friends. Me on the other hand, I was considered a trouble-maker with surprisingly good grades, but freakish for my silver hair, and horribly untalented, ugly, and violent. Pretty much my dead older brother was a "heroic warrior", my little sister was the perfect and lovable child, and I was the neglected underdog.

"H-Hubby...?" I heard my mother stutter. Avarice and I turned to see her back away from the door. On the ground, I saw the shadow of a man, holding something in his hand. It was a knife.

_"Pure madness,_

_Subterfuge of sadness._

_Take me away,_

_When everything is to my dismay..."_

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_Nico: And that's the first chapter! Yay~ Uh, so I've said earlier, this story doesn't have much to do with the original storyline, but it will include characters from the story. I will try.

A few notes:

1. About the four pigtails, search up Yotsuba in Google images, that's pretty much what I had imagined when I wrote this

2. Otoro is extra fatty tuna, it is usually pink and color, it is really expensive and tasty (although I prefer salmon over tuna...)

And yes, there is a Littlest Pet Shop (**Which I do not own**) reference. I just don't see what the big deal is with the bobble headed things...

A little explanation about the story. This story is sort of a back story to Squalo's life, which in my opinion, is plausible, and possibly as flawed as others. There will probably be...no more than ten chapters. It's just a random idea I got in my head today. Moreover...considering that fact I've never finished a story, except for a few exceptions (all of these I rather dislike now...), I may not even finish this story. If that happens, I apologize beforehand to anyone who enjoys the story.

I'll try my best!

Please Read and Review!


	2. Storm is Brewing

Nico: Hello, once again. Time for chapter two.

I just want to point out something I didn't point out earlier, this is not a yaoi fanfiction of Xanxus and Squalo. It isn't. However, Xanxus does have a role later on in the story, worth deeming him as a main character. When I think about it, yes you could assume that it suggests XS, and yes when I think about the rough story idea, one could assume it was a romance story by skipping to the end. Despite that, it is not a yaoi/boylove/whatever word you have for it.

Also, from the last chapter, Resonant Cadence is my creation and I'd rather if no one copies it, and/or any of the songs/poems I wrote for the band, please and thank you.

I think that's about it for now, so you may start reading now.

**I STILL DON'T OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

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**Storm is Brewing  
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_"Insanity to Clarity"_**  
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"I'm home," my father smiled. "Did I scare you?"

"Y-you scared the daylights out of me...!" my mother stuttered. My father chuckled apologetically and sheathed his switchblade and placed it back into his back pocket.

"_Scusa_," he said. "It took longer than I expected to get back." My father worked under the Ninth Vongola. One would think, that by having a man work under the Ninth, the family of that man would be rich. The reason why we aren't is because my dad is a chronic gambler and drinker. It doesn't take long for him to get back home, since he's takes a jet back to the village. Once he's back, he'll wander into some stores, buy a couple things, go to the bar or the casino then head on home.

There's a trick to figure out if he's drunk or sober. My father is always smiling and always tries to be kind to my mother and sister, no matter if he's sober or drunk. However, there is one difference. When he's sober he is kind to me, kind-ish. Then when he's drunk, he beats me. He says I remind him of his old man – my silver hair and eyes – and he hated his old man.

To be absolutely truthful, my family is messed up. My father is a lying gambler and drinker, who wastes money on meaningless gifts. My mother is an idiot for marrying such a man, and is blind to the fact that he has been stealing the money _she_ worked so hard to earn. My sister is a whiny, greedy brat. Me, I'm just some kid that everyone ignores.

"_Papà_! _Papà_! _PAPÀ_!" Avarice squealed, like a boiling pig I should add, as she jumped out of her seat and ran up to greet our father. The man known as my father smiled and chuckled as he lifted Avarice with his large hands, into the air. "_Papà_~ Did you bring presents?"

"Why of course," his smiled never dropped. "Anything for my little princess." With that he placed Avarice back down and took out a sparkling pink gift bag with curled ribbons on the handle. Avarice squealed with joy as she took the gift from my father's hands, without saying anything close to a thank you. He took out a small box, beautifully wrapped in emerald green wrapping paper, tied together with a red ribbon. Held in between the box and the ribbon, was a red rose.

"Adamo..." my mother spoke, clearly at a lose for words. "_Grazie_." She gently held the small box in her hands, carefully unwrapping it.

Then he turned towards me. "Squalo, why don't you give your _papà_ a hug?" I didn't move an inch. I hated this man who was apparently my father. I hated him so much I wish I could kill him. I would rather throw myself into a sea of sharks than hug him, but I knew that if I didn't, he would beat me after my mother and sister were asleep.

"Come on, Squalo," Avarice pulled my chair back. I almost fell off. "Give _papà _a hug!" I fought the will to yell at her in front of my parents and stood up. I took small steps, each of them unbearable as I smelled the scent of that man. The scent that was a revolting mixture of alcohol and old cheese. I stopped at his feet and looked up at him. His face was just as disgusting, I needn't describe it.

Then I was picked up by large hands. I held my breath was I was smothered between two large hands and a jacket covered chest. "It feels so wonderful to finally be home, surrounded by my loving family~" I heard the man say.

He placed me back down and then noticed the dinner table. "Oh? Have I interrupted dinner?"

"Not at all," my mother said. "You made it just in time."

"Good," he smiled. "I brought a treat for dessert!" He lifted a white box tied by a thin red ribbon.

There are times, I would take a pig squealing over my sister squealing...

* * *

"Squalo, are you about done yet?" Avarice's voice came from behind the door.

"Voi! Shut up you pea-brained brat!" I shouted. Damn, I looked insane in the mirror. I was brushing my teeth, and brushing my teeth is important. If I could, I would let the tap run while I brushed, but that would be wasting money, and that was that last thing we wanted. I just felt calmer around water, but I digress. I had foaming toothpaste running from my mouth and dripping from my chin. I looked like I was a madman.

"You're a bully!" Avarice yelled. "I'm telling _papà_!"

I slammed the door open but she had already ran off to our old man. Give me a break, I don't need this. I closed the door again and continued to brush.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Squalo? Son, could you come out for a second?"

I groaned as I spit out the toothpaste in my mouth and rinsed my mouth. I came out of the washroom, wiping my mouth with a small towel. There was my father and Avarice was right behind him, holding on to his left pant leg.

"Your sister tells me you've been picking on her," he said in his usual voice. "Is this true Squalo?"

"And what about it?" I asked.

"Answer the question, Squalo," my father's voice slightly hardened. I stared daggers at Avarice. You damned tattle... I turned back to my father with the same gaze and nodded.

"I think your sister deserves an apology," my father said.

"Yeah," Avarice added in with a boastful voice.

"What about me?" I asked. "When do _I_ get an apology?"

"Has Avarice been mean to you, son?"

"He's lying, papà!" Avarice said.

When _do_ I get an apology? When will Avarice say sorry for taking my fork, or for crying out loud in the store? When will mother say sorry for sending us to a private school when we obviously don't have enough money for one? When will father say sorry for always missing my birthdays, and for beating me? When?

"Squalo..."

"I'm sorry," I said dully. That's right, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm alive. I'm sorry that you have to put up with me. I'm sorry that I'm just a waste of space. I'm sorry that I pollute the air with carbon dioxide. I'm sorry I look like my grandfather. I'm fucking sorry!

"Good son," my father patted my head. "I'd like to talk to you tomorrow night, is that alright?" I nodded. "_Buonanotte_, Avarice, Squalo." With that he left.

"You got in trouble, Stupid Squalo~!" Avarice stuck out her tongue at me and left for her room.

I just stood there. I don't know how long I did, but I just stood there. Frozen in place, like nothing meant anything anymore.

* * *

"Ciao, Squalo," Keith greeted me.

"Voi, Keith, what are you doing here?" I asked. It was the day after my father returned. I heard a knock on the door and there was Keith.

"I thought that we should go out for a walk again!" Keith said with a bright smile.

"Squalo? Who is at the door?" my father walked up and then noticed Keith. "Oh, hello, are you friends with Squalo?"

"Yes sir! You must be Squalo's father, a pleasure it is to finally meet you!" Keith grave out his hand.

"Likewise," my father grabbed a hold of Keith's hand and shook it. Same old Keith, so polite as usual. "So Squalo, you and your friend are going out on a walk?"

"I guess," I answered.

He merely smiled. "Well then...here." He handed me a couple bills of money. "Go buy whatever you want. Have fun you two." He then left after placing the green bills in my hand.

"Wow," Keith's eyes sparkled. "I've never seen so much money!"

I stared at the money in the palm of my hand. It felt so heavy. Then I jammed the bills into my trouser pockets and turned to Keith. "So where do you want to go?"

"I really didn't think about that..." Keith said with a childish grin. "How about...the beach?" It was decided. The two of us ended up going to the beach, luckily it wasn't too far. The beach was nice. It was at it's peak since it was summer. Across the sand, people lay about on their beach towels, under the shade of their large umbrellas.

We removed our shoes and socks and stepped onto the sand. It was hot on our bare feet, but cool underneath. We ran over to the cool water. The water glistened with the reflection of the sun. The sky was cloudless, just a bright blue and a shining sun. The smells of fried foods and sweet treats, and sunscreen filled the air. I loved the beach, it was so calming, so tranquil.

After a couple games of water tag, dark clouds began to roll in. "Looks like a storm is brewing..."

I then remembered the dollar bills in my pocket. "How about we go to the sushi restaurant?"

"You mean it?" Keith's eyes seemed to sparkle with joy. I nodded and the two of us headed to the sushi restaurant. I noticed, that boy wasn't there today.

"Um, o-otoro, please," Keith seemed to be bubbling with excitement.

"Uh...salmon, please?" I wasn't much of a whiz when it came with such expensive foods, but salmon seemed cheap enough.

"_Hai, Irashai!"_ The man placed a blue plate with two pieces of otoro on rice, and a red plate with two pieces of salmon on rice.

Kieth was pursing his lips, probably to keep himself from drooling all over the table. He clamped his hands together and whispered his thanks. Then he grabbed the a pair of chopsticks and picked up one of his otoro sushi and place the entire thing in his mouth.

"It's delicious, mister!" Kieth said with his mouth full.

"_Arigatou_!"

"You try yours, Squalo," Keith nudged me on. Unlike Keith, I didn't know how to use chopsticks, so I picked up the fish on rice with my hands. I looked at the striped orange and white, raw, fish flesh strangely before taking a bite. It wasn't that bad. I tasted vinegar, salt, and a pinch of sugar in the rice. The salmon felt smooth against my tongue, and had a strange "melt-in-your-mouth" feeling.

I noticed Keith was staring at me, waiting for my comment. I smiled and said, "Not bad."

We finished the our last pieces and paid up. For four pieces of fish on rice, they cost a LOT.

"Waa~ That was delicious, thanks again, Squalo!" Keith smiled.

"Don't mention it," I said. I'm never eating sushi again, it was just way to expensive. We were walking home now, and although it wasn't that late it was getting dark.

"Looks like autumn is coming soon," Keith said. Autumn...when the school year would start...

"Keith..." I said. "I have something to tell you." I hadn't told him, but I had to. Keith was my only friend.

* * *

"So...you're leaving..." Keith's smile had gone. I was silent now, but then I noticed Keith's smile return.

"That's...too bad, Squalo..." Keith said. "I...I was hoping for us to be able at least celebrate your birthday again...at least once..."

"Voi, Keith..."

"I...I'm really going to miss you, Squalo," Keith said with a sad smile. Tears began forming in his eyes. "You've been like a brother to me..."

"Voi, I'm going to miss you too," I said. "You're my only friend..."

Finally we made it to my house. I turned to Keith. "Voi, until then...let's go on walks every day!"

"Yeah!" Keith smiled. Then he gave out his fist. I smiled and offered out mine, bumping our knuckles together.

"_Addio_, Squalo," Keith said with a smile.

"_Addio_, Keith," I said and watched as Keith ran off. I turned and opened the door and entered the house. It was dark, it was past dinner time, and about time everyone got ready to sleep.

"Hello, son."

I turned my head and my father was there. He sat in his old armchair. He had his left leg over his right, and his fingers were intertwined as his hands rested on his left knee. He had the same smile on his face.

"Sorry for coming back late," I said.

"No problem at all," my father said. It was hard to see his face in this light. "I hope you hadn't forgotten our talk tonight."

I shuddered. I hadn't forgotten, but I wished I could have.

_"Insanity to Clarity,_

_Try not to flunk,_

_Clarity to Vulgarity,_

_You're just another d-d-drunk punk."_

_

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_Nico: And that's the second chapter. I had to do some studying for this chapter. I'm still sort of new to all this, but I was so happy to see all the visitors and hits I got for the first chapter of the story (I just hope that the number who decrease now that I've said it's not a XS fanfic...)_. _Uh, right now I just wish I could get some feedback, just to know that readers enjoy the story, or if there is anything I could improve on, or if there's something you'd like to see happen in the story. I'd really appreciate reviews.

There will be times I'll add some of my OCs, Keith is one of them. I do plan on adding them in, but they'll probably only be minor characters.

Oh and as for the Italian and the Romanized Japanese, I'm not 100% sure if they're right. If they aren't, I'd appreciate it if someone told me.

I'll probably be updating once a week with a new chapter, depends.

Please Read and Review!


	3. Nowhere to Hide, Everywhere to Run

Nico: Hello once again. Next up is chapter three!

**I STILL DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

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**Nowhere to Hide, Everywhere to Run  
**

_"Pass the drugs."_

I don't know how long it was. I just laid there on the carpet. I could still hear it all, playing and playing again in my head like some sick twisted song. The more I heard it, the more I wanted to drive my fingers through my skull and tear the sound out. All around me was darkness, nothing alive, except for me. It was raining outside, but even the pitter patter of the rain hitting the windows couldn't calm the tempest inside me.

_"I hope you hadn't forgotten our talk tonight."_

"Shut up..." I whimpered cowardly.

_"You look like you've seen a ghost."  
_

"Shut up..." I repeated.

_"What are you so scared of? It's just me, your father."_

"Shut up."

_"Would you like a glass?"_

"I said SHUT UP!" I got up. I picked up the glass he had drunken from and threw it to the wall. Clear liquor ran down the wall as the shards of glass hit the carpet flooring. My breathing was uneven and my legs wouldn't stop shaking. I dared myself not to look. I told myself not to cry. I made myself lay back down, without a thought of why. Even after threatening myself over and over, my eyes rolled over in the direction of the broken glass.

Oh Dear Lord.

* * *

_I stood in silence as my father held his clear glass of liquor up. After a few seconds of silence, my father sighed and placed his glass back onto the tabletop. "Do you know why I wanted to have this talk with you, son?"_

_I didn't answer. I didn't want to. Part of my told me to answer and get this shit over with. The other part told me to run like Hell. Torn between two, I stood motionless and soundless, unsure which to do. _

_"I remember teaching you manners, boy," He said as he stood up. I still didn't say a word. I didn't move at all. Why do i have to be such a coward? Why can't I just answer? Why can't I just run? I hate this._

_I felt his large, calloused hands on my chin, as he tipped my head upwards. My eyes locked with his. There was a different smile on his face._

_"Rule number one, look at whoever is talking to you," he said. I could smell the alcohol in my breath. It made me want to retch and I had to force my stinging eyes from watering. _

_**BAM**_

_I hit the carpet floor, falling like a neglected doll. The carpet was welcoming, but the bruise forming on my left cheek stung as if it were crying out for attention. "Rule number two, answer when someone asks you a question." I felt something pull my back collar, pulling the rest of me as well, like a lion and his cub. Unluckily for me, if I didn't find the guts to run soon, I'll be eaten by my own father. _

_"Hey, Squalo, did you know sharks are the most dangerous predators in the waters? However, even the mighty shark is the prey to man."_

_"Put me down." I said monotonously. Relief filled me as I fell back to the carpet, but was traded off as pain took its place, crushing my back. I turned my head around and up. My father had his booted foot directly on my back, with a smile on his face._

_"What if...mother and Avarice find out?" I asked as sweat ran down my temples._

_"Like they would ever listen," he said and removed his foot. I was pulled up again, only to meet up with his vile face again. "Tell me one thing, boy, have they _ever_ listened to you?"_

_I didn't answer. I didn't need to. He knew the answer, and I knew the answer as well. There was no point in wasting my breath. He laughed and threw me onto the table. _

_Everything disappeared then. Everything became nothing. Nothing. No one to bother me. Nothing to hurt me. Nowhere to go. No reason nor logic. Nothing, but the pitter patter of the rain beating against the windows. _

_Lightning flashed and thunder clashed. Then something caught my eye. Something shone with every flash of lightning. Something metallic._

_I was thrown again, coincidentally near that something. The something continued to shine with every flash of lightning. It felt cold on the tips of my fingers. It felt powerful. I stared at the object, then rolled my eyes over to my father who was catching his breath. We locked our eyes._

_"Voi."  
_

_

* * *

_I never knew how much blood there was in a human being. Red stained the gray carpet, and began to dry on my hands. I still held on tightly to the kitchen knife, inspecting it. It too was covered in drying blood, but past it, I could make out my reflection.

Then sanity returned to me as I dropped the knife and stood up. What had I just done? I had killed my father with a kitchen knife! I cursed myself as I stared at the horrendous sight. What do I do? I took a deep breath and took a wet cloth and began cleaning the carpet. By the time I was done, the carpet was clean, with hardly noticeable pink patches. Then I took the knife and cleaned it as well. Wearing gloves I placed the knife back where I had found it.

Last of all was my father. He had stopped bleeding, for now. I had to get rid of him, but where? I took out an old cover and wrapped it around his dead body. I kept the gloves on as I heaved him out and headed outside. It was still raining but I didn't care. It calmed me down, and wash all the blood from my hands. I had to create a fake scenario. I took the body and dumped it by the alleyway behind the bar, where all the garbage was. I opened the cover to find that he his blood had stained the cover, good.

This was the scenario: my father went out drinking. He went out of the bar, and didn't come back. He ended up getting mugged, and because he resisted he was killed. I had worn gloves so there shouldn't be any sign that points to me as the killer. My father's face, as much as it hurt to look at it, was scarred up, making it hard for anyone to recognize him, so the customers and workers of the bar wouldn't be able to recognize him either. Was I missing anything? I didn't think so.

I turned around and began walking.

"So you're just going to leave him like this?" I stopped and looked around. There was no one around.

"I know you hated him, but why did you kill him?"

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Evening, I'm your guardian."

"Where are you?"

"You can't see me, I'm just a voice with no physical body."

"Right..." I shook my head. I must be getting tired. I started heading home.

"Would it really be the best thing for you to go home?"

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked.

"I'm your guardian." I ignored the voice and continued to walk. "You don't believe me? Look into the window then." I rolled my eyes and humored the voice and looked into the window of the store beside me. To my shock, there was someone behind me in the reflection. A girl, taller and probably older than me. She had short black hair, drenched by the rain, and plastered to her pale face.

"Who...what..." I turned around but there was no one behind me.

"I'm your guardian, Squalo. My name is Esther," the voice spoke.

"Why...i-if you're my guardian...why didn't you protect me?" I demanded an answer.

"I can't protect you, Squalo. I'm here to guide you," Esther spoke. "And I'm telling you now, you must not go back home."

"Where _do_ I go then?" I asked.

"Anywhere, just not home," Esther said. "Home now, just isn't where you should be."

I lowered my head. "It was...never a place for me, right?" I lifted my head so the rain could fall against my face. It was so soothing this feeling. My head was clear, and all my troubles were gone in an instant.

"There's somewhere else you can go, somewhere that will eventually take you to where you do belong." I looked back at the mirror, the girl in the reflection, Esther, was smiling. She was right beside me, holding out her hand.

Beside me, there was no one, but secretly, there was. I reached out. Real or not, she was the only one here for me.

_"Pass the drugs"_

_"When I'm hearing voices"_

_"I'm all out of choices"_

_"Pass the drugs"  
_

_

* * *

_And another chapter is finished. This week has become a bit hectic with my volunteer work, next week may also be a bit busy since my birthday is next Sunday. I'll try my best to update!

I would really appreciate some reviews. Just so I can have an idea what everyone would like to see in the chapters.

One side note, Esther is one of my OCs.

Please Read and Review!


	4. The Calm After the Storm

Nico: I'm back! Sorry for not updating last Wednesday, I was busy with appointments.

Anyways, please enjoy!

**I STILL DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

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**The Calm After the Storm**

_"Turning and Churning."_

"Squalo...?"

I blinked. He blinked back.

"Keith," I finally spoke. "I...I..."

"What's wrong, Keith?" A woman's voice came. Then a woman walked up from behind Keith. She had strange green hair, which was neatly cut to rest on her shoulders. Her irises were a dazzling green, so much that her pupil almost seemed out of place.

"Oh." She noticed me. "Are you a friend of Keith? Squalo was it?"

"Yes..." I said.

"Would you like to come in, it's raining rather hard tonight," the woman smiled. I nodded and walked in. The house was lit with candles all around. It was a small house, smaller than the mine.

"We were about to have a quick snack together, would you care to join us?" the woman asked. She had a very kind voice, and was very polite. I simply nodded. She smiled in response then turned to Keith with the same smile. "Keith, why don't you go introduce your friend to the others? I'm sure it would brighten up the mood."

"Mm! Okay!" Keith took my hand and tugged me away. Then he looked back at me. "You sure surprised me, Squalo! I didn't know you knew where I lived."

"I...yeah, I didn't," Squalo said. "Lucky guess. But...is this really your foster home...?"

"What were you expecting, stone walls and iron bars?" Keith joked.

"Voi, yeah, something like that," I pulled off a smile. Keith giggled than he opened a door to a bedroom. There were three beds, all carefully made. By the beds playing cards were two other boys. Both were younger than us, and both seemed to be the same age. One wore a medical mask and a beanie over his head. The other was covered with bandages. Both had auburn hair, although the one with the beanie seemed to be of a darker hue. The one with bandages had irises that matched his eyes, while as the one with the beanie had eyes as cold as the knife I used.

"Vsevolod, Xerxes, this is my friend Squalo, he's going to be staying with us tonight," Keith smiled. Then he turned to face me. "Vsevolod is the boy with the beanie. He's really smart, but gets sick often."

"Last card," Vsevolod spoke, his voice was slightly muffled by the medical mask. Then the other boy, Xerxes, grabbed eight cards from the deck and placed them into his hand. Vsevolod seemed to ignore my presence.

"And this is Xerxes, he's really quiet and gets bullied often," Keith patted Xerxes' head. Xerxes looked up at me, his eyes were deep and seemed to cry out "I'm scared."

"Boys! It's time for a snack before bed!" the woman's voice called. The four of us walked to the room before, me being the last to enter. The snack was small, but since it was before sleep, it was understandable.

"Uh..." I tried break the ice. "Are you two...brothers?" I had to ask. There was something about the Vsevolod and Xerxes that wasn't right. One was physically weak, and the other was a weakling. One was just plain freaky, and the other looked like a beaten up dog on the side of the road. They seemed like complete opposites, but then again, Avarice and I were too.

"So you've noticed," Vsevolod smirked, he had taken off his mask to eat. "We're fraternal twins." One would think it would be nice to be noticed finally, but the expression on his face made me wish I had not spoken at all. His hair was long and covered the left side of his face, his beanie covered the upper half of his right face, but not his right eye. With the smirk on his face one would think he was dead and had just come back alive, finding the perfect prey to devour.

"Xerxes is older though," he finally said. I almost choked. If anything, I thought Vsevolod would be older. Xerxes had a sad expression. Something that screamed "Please don't hurt me...I'll give you my lunch money..." His head was always lowered so that the lower half of his face was covered by his jacket. His eyebrows were arched downwards in discomfort. His hands stayed in the jacket sleeves, only his finger tips poked out to hold his cup.

"Voi...you're serious?" I asked. Vsevolod and Xerxes nodded, at the same time...that was freaky.

After the snack we all returned to the bedroom. I had learned that the woman was named Celeste, and that she had recently gotten engaged. The foster home they lived in was this "new housing plan"(1) for the orphans. The plan was for three to four orphans to live in the same house together, with one or two guardians to take care of them. This way, all the orphans receive equal nurturing and care from their guardian or guardians, and they eventually learn to be a bit more independent in their own home. Celeste takes care of the house, along with the three boys, and often her fiance comes around to play with the boys. Vsevolod and Xerxes are both five years old, their mother died giving birth to them, and their father is in a mental hospital. Keith's parents have apparently disappeared from the face of the earth.

"And me, I've killed my father and have run away from home," I said. I was in the washroom, looking into the mirror and talking to Esther.

"You don't have to sound so pessimistic," Esther said. Everyone else had fallen asleep, but I couldn't. Too much had happened this day, and I couldn't close my eyes for a second without seeing the blood. "I mean sure, it's a lot to take in, and yes it is not a good thing to do, but...what's done is done."

"Why did you take me here? Did you know that this was Keith's house?" I asked. It was sort of awkward talking to Esther. I couldn't see her, unless I looked into a reflective surface. When I did see her, I saw myself too, like I was talking to my twin and her.

"I took you here because I have a bad feeling," Esther said. "You father worked under the ninth Vongola, once they find out he's dead, the Vongola are going to search high and low. Luckily, you didn't leave a trace of evidence. Except, you left the body."

"What do you want me to do? Dump him into the ocean? Bury him in sand?"

"Well you can't go back out there anyway," Esther interrupted me. "The Vongola are going to search your house and when they find out you're missing, they're going to look for you too."

"So you're saying...I should run from village to village, living under some crack name like Fred McBobbert(2)?"

"No..." I heard Esther chuckle. "What I'm saying is, you'll have to prepare an escape route. Your mother and sister might know of your friendship with Keith, and they'll target the orphanages then. They'll find Keith in the database, find his house, and you. You have to be prepared to run before they discover this, if not, Keith and the entire household will suffer."

I didn't want to cause Keith trouble. He was my only friend. I looked into the mirror, at me, at Esther. "So all I have to do is run?"

"Yeah, the sooner the better," Esther said. "You'll...probably never see Keith again, either way."

I cringed at her words. Did she have to make them sound so cold? "Where do I run to now then?"

"I'm not even sure," Esther said.

"You're my guardian aren't you?" I asked.

"I _am_ your guardian, but that doesn't make me a being of infinite knowledge," Esther said. "I'm just a soul who has made past mistakes, and to repent I have to guide one living soul."

"So...you're dead?"

"Technically yes, but I'm not allowed to completely go until I've guided you," Esther said. "But enough about me, we need to think up of a plan. Personally, if it were me, would turn myself in but you...you're still young, and there are great things ahead of you in life."

"Yeah? Like what?" I scoffed.

"That's for you to discover," Esther said. "And if you're anything but your little sister, you'd best get up and keep walking towards them. I've watched over you for ten years, Squalo, and I've come to know you're not one to rely on others like your sister. That's why I want you to keep walking Squalo. Just because there are bumps on the road, and you fall, do you stand there and cry like some wuss?"

I stared at her. She was awaiting my answer. "Of course not."

"Exactly! You're stronger than that! You don't need to wait for someone to come by and pick you back up. You don't need to sit there and cry. You fall down, you get yourself back up and walk! Because that's the kind of prideful ten-year old you are!"

"Esther..."

"But you're not alone," Esther said. "You have Keith and me. Even if you'll have to run and leave Keith, you'll be together in spirit, and in heart."

The guardian in the mirror was smiling, and I knew that her smile was real.

I knew, that I could trust her.

_"Turning and Churning."_

_"When everything's burning_,"

_"I think I might be crazy,"_

_"Everything's going hazy..."_

_

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_

Nico: Sorry again for skipping last week, I posted this one early to make it up.

Plus, today is my birthday, so I really rushed the passed two days to finish this chapter. I'm really happy there are people reading this story, not many people have read my work, and it's really nice to have so many readers! Thank you! I will continue to work hard!

A couple notes:

1. The new housing plan was actually based off this new housing plan for special needs kids. In my life I spend a lot of time around special needs children and one day I found out about this new housing plan. Its a plan for special needs kids when their parents have grown too old to take care of them, I thought it might work for orphans too.

2. Fred McBobbert is not exactly _my_ OC, it's my friend's. Fred McBobbert was a name he made up as an alias for himself, all of my friends found it funny. One day he came over to my house and we played Sims 2 on the gamecube, he created a sim with a purple mohawk under the name Aff, which was another alias for my friend. Every time I think of Fred McBobbert I think of the purple mohawk sim.

This chapter was a lot more happier than the previous one. Vsevolod, Xerxes, and Celeste are my OCs, however Celeste is a character that is related to a Reborn! character, can anyone guess who?

On the side note, did anyone hear the new Katekyo Hitman Reborn songs? They were awesome! I loved Squalo's BREAK OUT, although I still like the Chinkonka no Ame~ Kikyo's was good too. And Fran's was so good! Belphegor's fitted him, personality-wise. I liked Xanxus' much better than his old one. And Shoichi and Spanner's SIMULATION (hehe...kashi~)

And did anyone see the OVA? I found Squalo's hidden talent amusing. Oh! Did anyone notice that in the battle for the Vongola rings, Lussuria lost, Levi won, Belphegor won, Squalo lost, and Xanxus lost. And in the OVA battle for the dinner, Lussira lost, Levi won, Belphegor won, Squalo lost, and Xanxus lost... My mind was blown...Squalo deserves to win at least once!

Well I've rambled for long enough.

Please Read and Review!


	5. Winds of Change

Nico: Sorry for skipping a couple weeks. I was busy with getting used to going back to school.

Updates may be a bit shaky the next couple weeks with school and all. I probably won't be allowed to use the computer until the weekends (or if I have a project to work on). Either way, I'll be pretty busy, but I'll try to keep updating once a week, probably on weekends now...

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter!

**I STILL DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

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**Winds of Change**

_"Cheer with Fear..."_

The night had proven to be short, in my opinion. In what seemed like only five minutes of sleep, the sun rose and everyone in the household had woken up. I can't say it was the best way to wake up. Since there were only three beds, Keith offered to share his, since Xerxes was rather fearful of me, while Vsevolod grumbled something about germs and bacteria. Keith's bed was right by the one window in the room, which just happened to be on the west side of the room. When the sun rose, and entered the pathway of the window, the light bled through and into the room. Even with my eyes closed, the blinding lights clawed through, and a vermilion color irritated my eyes.

I quickly learned that the two brothers were absolutely polar opposites. Vsevolod, the smartass king of the playground,and Xerxes, the uncoordinated, cowardly, whipping-boy of every last kid in said playground. It just made it harder and harder to absorb the fact that they were brothers. Sibling rivalry I can understand, but one-sided sibling rivalry...? It was just plain pathetic to watch Xerxes' head being forced into the sink after he had accidentally got toothpaste on Vsevolod's pajamas.

Luckily, Keith was able to break the two apart. I couldn't bear to imagine what this place would be like without Keith, Xerxes would probably be dead though.

Celeste let me stay for breakfast, which was nice. Not like the usual canned food I was used to, but rather fresh food. Eggs, sunny-side up, with the whites perfectly crisp on the edges, and the yolk still runny. Toast, lightly brown, with smooth melting butter on its crunchy surface. Freshly squeezed orange juice in a mug with a small cartoon frog printed on. I almost gasped in delight when my eyes rolled over to the middle of the plate. Bacon! Actual, crisp yet still chewy, mouthwatering, bacon!

"My, you must be hungry," Celeste said. It was rather true, the last full meal I had was breakfast yesterday, I had a piece of sushi and a small snack in between, but right now, I am starving.

"Ciao? Is anybody home~?" A voice came from the entrance and Keith quickly got out of his seat to answer it. "Ciao, Xetol!"

"Squalo!" Keith quickly came back to the room. Following behind him was a girl with black hair, in a way, she resembled Esther, only a lot younger. She looked to be about Xerxes and Vsevolod's age. "This is Xetol(1). Xetol, this is Squalo."

"Ciao, Squalo," Xetol smiled with a bow. She really did resemble Esther. Her hair was short and cut in a similar fashion. Her irises were the color of dark umber. She was shorter than Keith and I, and slightly taller than Xerxes. Unlike some girls her age, she didn't wear a dress, instead she wore a white blouse, and a pair of durable trousers. She spoke with a strange accent, it wasn't Italian for sure. It was no doubt that she was foreigner.

"Ciao..." I said awkwardly. I felt like I was talking to someone I already knew. She ended staying with us. In a way she was like a female version of Keith. Whenever Vsevolod started teasing his older brother, she was able to stop them. However, it almost seemed like Vsevolod acted more nicely to his brother with Xetol around. The moment she left to use the washroom, he'd dunk his brother's mug of milk over his head, soaking his already pitiful child.

"Hey, Squalo, do you want to go to the park later on with Xetol?" Keith asked me.

"Uh...sure, why not...?"

My mistake...I now know a reason why not.

* * *

The park was nice. The sky was cloudless after the storm the the last night. It was summer, and the humidity from the rain didn't help the heat. The park was rather empty since the grassy ground was wet and muddy. There was a "schlop" every time one of took a step onto the gross terrain. Not that I'm complaining. In the park, it was either standing on the mucky ground, or sitting on wet benches.

"Hey, Keith," Xetol said. "Why didn't you tell me you had such a cute friend?" Keith seemed to laugh as I stared at the young girl in a mix of disbelief and disgust. Xetol joined in the laughter than patted my head like I was a puppy to her. "I'm kidding, I just really find your hair really interesting."

"Uh...thanks...?" She was weird. "I was born with this hair..." This hair...

"Wow!" Xetol exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

I shrugged at her compliment. To me this hair was nothing but a problem. This hair was the reason my father hated me. It was so easily seen, if I were walking in the dark or in a crowded hallway, anyone could see me from a mile away. Like I said before, this was the hair of my grandfather. He had treated my father the same way my father had treated me. I once had tried to dye my hair but it never worked. For the most part, it hair dye wasn't free, I wish it were, I'd have died my hair black by now.

"Man, that was some storm the other day!" Keith said, inspecting a small tree was that was bent in two ways; curved like it was dancing(2).

I then heard a chirping sound off in the distance. I turned away from the small tree, not too far away, was another tree. It somewhat thicker and taller than the curved tree, and something was calling out. Leaving Keith and Xetol to stare at the curved tree, I headed over to the calling tree. Most of it's leaves were blown off, similar to all the other trees in the park, leaving it's long branches bare. I looked down to the muddy ground, and a few feet away from the tree was a small nest of twigs entwined tightly. In the next were four dark feathered birds, their feathers.

"Squalo! Why'd you just suddenly run off?" I heard Keith call and then I realized the two had joined me. It didn't take them long to realize what I was staring at.

"Baby Blackbirds!" Xetol said crouching down, carefully making sure she didn't touch the muddy ground, for a better look. "The poor things, their parents must have flown away from the storm!"

"Oh, I wish there was some way we could help..." Keith said.

"Voi, maybe..." I spoke out without thinking and hesitated to continue. However when I noticed that the two were now staring at me, waiting for me to continue, I realized there was no point in chickening out now. "How about we bring them home and take care of them? They're only going to get worse if we keep them out here."

"That's a great idea, Squalo!" Xetol said. I swear, her eyes seemed to shine like the sun was in them.

"Only one problem," Keith said. "Vsevolod hates animals...he has many allergies and he's always weary of germs..."

"What about you, Xetol?"

"I'm fine with taking care of them," Xetol smiled happily. I stared at her shining face, then down to the blackbirds. I didn't want to leave them. Xetol may have been alright with it but she was very young. She couldn't possibly be able to take care of four birds.

"Mm...How about...Keith and I watch over them in the morning, when we're not at home, and you can watch over them at night? That way, we can pitch in too."

"Sounds awesome! I totally agree!" Keith smiled.

"Okay," Xetol said. After carefully setting the nest on one of the wet benches we divided up the blackbirds. Keith and I both had one, and Xetol took care of two. I noticed my blackbird's beak was chipped on the left side, Keith's was the largest of the four, and Xetol's two were the smallest.

"I'm going to name mine Ucello and Nero," Xetol giggled, holding them in her hands.

"This little guy is going to be Amico," Keith smiled as Amico chirped in response to his new name. "What about you, Squalo?"

"Uh..." I looked at the small bird in my hand. It stared back at me, as if saying, "Yes, sir, what is my name?" I kept staring at the chip in his beak as I scratched my head. "Uh...Chip."

"Chip? Aw, that's cute!" Xetol said.

That's what happened. We ended up taking care of the blackbirds, for the day. Chip was a bit of a brat. He often jumped out of my hands and clumsily flew away. One of these times, he actually flew far, and I had to chase after him. I only heard Keith telling me to meet us back at the park over the sound of my heavy breathing. It was the freaking twentieth time he's flown off!

"Why do you care so much about a blackbird?" I heard Esther's voice.

"Didn't you see, Esther?" I said. "They were all alone! Their parents are gone. They're like me. All alone. Like Hell I'm going to allow them to end up like me!" I took a sharp turn, following the sound of chirping.

"You don't get it do you," Esther said. "A blackbird's call is a warning of danger." I didn't hear Esther, I just kept running. All that mattered now was getting Chip, I had all the time in the world to listen to her...

Finally Chip landed on the stone ground. I quickly bent down and scooped him up.

"Voi, you've really got to stop doing that," I said holding Chip in my hands. He seemed frantic, he kept chirping.

"Are you the son of Adamo?" I heard a voice from behind me.

Suddenly I felt hands all around me. I panicked and, thinking only of Chip, held the bird close to me as I felt something forced down my mouth.

All I heard was a chirping as everything went black.

_"Cheer with Fear,"_

_"When all is unclear,"_

_"Sincere yet Severe,"_

_"That's the future near."_

_

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_Nico: And that's chapter five! The next chapter will be the start of a new era of Squalo's life, and thus, this story will probably be rated M for the use of swearing because of Squalo.

A couple notes:

1. Xetol - if anyone read my "Et Cetera" fanfic on Enma, there was a girl named Xetol. The two aren't the same people, I just really like the name Xetol.

2. There's a tree like that outside my school, it's really amusing to see. (I have really no idea why it's curved though.)

Please watch out for the next chapter, probably uploaded next week, I'll do my best!

Please Read and Review!


	6. Only Free, Only Me

Nico: Hi! I am SO SORRY for not updating for... a while. I've been really busy with school, my own personal stories, and other fanfictions (plus, I got a bit lazy in between). I still plan on finishing this story, which is in four chapters if all goes as planned.

For those who've noticed that the story has changed to M rating, I hope you all don't mind. The reason why is because of Squalo's potty mouth. There may be sexual innuendos, and definitely swearing (which is painful for me as well...), violence (it's Squalo), but no sex (It's SQUALO).

**I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

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**Only Free, Only Me**

Four years had passed since I had killed my father. Four long agonizing years.

Esther seemed to stay though. While I slowly began to lose my mind, she seemed to be the remaining piece of sanity left in me, or perhaps I was down right broken speaking to her through a mirror. I never really spoke to her in the day, people would stare. The last thing I really needed was the extra attention. I only spoke to her at night, or during lunch break when I went to the washroom to eat. She would be watching over me by the mirror. That and complaining how unsanitary the washrooms were.

What had happened seven years ago? When I was suddenly kidnapped after finding Chip?

* * *

_Finally Chip landed on the stone ground. I quickly bent down and scooped him up._

_"Voi, you've really got to stop doing that," I said holding Chip in my hands. He seemed frantic, he kept chirping._

_"Are you the son of Adamo?" I heard a voice from behind me._

_Suddenly I felt hands all around me. I panicked and, thinking only of Chip, held the bird close to me as I felt something forced down my mouth._

_All I heard was a chirping as everything went black._

_By the time I woke up, I was in a bed. The room was dark, with light seeping through the cracks in the window blinds. Yet still the room seemed so lifeless. Like this was the place where little children were locked in, screaming for mercy, until they finally died of hunger. I could see cracks in the walls, and small craters where some of the stronger inmates would vent their anger on the wall. The bed I was in, was just a mattress on the ground. There were no covers, no bed frame, just a mattress with a sour odour. My clothes were gone. All I wore were my undergarments and a gown. I no longer felt safe then._

_I quickly got off the foul smelling mattress, and towards the door. I almost tripped, as my feet stung with numbness. I caught myself before I hit my head on the door, quickly thrusting my hands out. Regaining my stability I looked at the door, but there was nothing. It was just a metal door, with no handle. I tried pushing, but to no avail. There was nothing to pull, and my throat could not work up the energy to yell out. _

_After a few minutes, I lost control over my legs, and let myself fall onto the cold ground. It was deafeningly silent. Throughout my sleep, all I could really hear was chirping. Chip. I took a quick look around, but there was no sign of the blackbird. Perhaps... he flew off when I was captured, maybe he made it back to Keith and Xetol. I wonder... are they worried? Will they search for me?  
_

_I was tired, numb, confused, and slightly annoyed. Where the Hell was I and why am I freaking here? My brain was so clouded with torment, that I hardly noticed the light coming from the exit of the room. The door had opened._

_"Kid? You awake kid?" _

_The voice had caught my attention. Turning around quickly, I found myself faced towards a large figure, a man. He wore a suit, but his tie was slightly crooked. His shoes seemed expensive, but they needed to be polished. His skin was dark, and his voice was gruff. He did not seem dangerous, but I could not be sure. I was definitely not in the mood to be kidnapped_ again.

_"You're Adamo's kid right?"_

_I said nothing._

_The man simply sighed. "Alright, kid, alright. You wanna come on out with me? I'm guessing you ain't to comfortable in this graveyard of a room, and I wouldn't be to happy to be in a gown either. Come on, let's find you some more... adequate clothes." The turned on his heel, as if he knew I was going to go with him. But I didn't have to. How could he think that I could trust him so easily? If I was armed, I could have killed him like that. What was he thinking? _

_However, I ended up following him._

* * *

It was another morning as the light bled through the blinds. I woke up, not to the dead room, but to my new room. The room I had been in for about four years. Unlike everyone else, I had my own room. No one dared to disturb me. No one dared.

The other kids were weary of me. They saw me as some kind of gangster, the ones who bleach their hair. I won't disagree with them. Although my hair was not bleached. It was simply cursed. My face held a scowl, further intimidating the various children. I had taken up sword fighting, and thus carried a sword with me everywhere.

There, leaning coolly against the side table, it was. My _spada_, my sword, my soul. Lifting myself off my bed, I knew it was another day.

There was no "good morning" no "did you have a nice sleep?" Just the cold stare that my sword gave me. It was like the stare I gave _them_ that day.

* * *

_The man, whose name I still did not know, lead me to a washroom. It was like those you see in jails, tiled from all sides. Multiple shower heads, with trays holding bars of soap. The room smelled of soap, and I could see mold and soap scum clinging between the tiles. _

_"Why don't you take a shower first? I don't know how long they've cooped you in that room, but having a good hygiene is essential for kids growing up."_

_I did not move. My eyes darted from the drains, to the shower heads, and to the air vents in the ceiling. All of them had something in common, they were openings. Any type of substance could seep through them. Any substance, such as rat poison.  
_

_I didn't study it much, but I read a book once. It was about the world wars, and how German armies were the first to use gas bombs, and later on created gas chambers for the Jewish people. I still remember the book saying that all the people who were unfit, were too old, were disabled, were too young, or were not perfect, were told to enter the shower rooms. There, they walked into their tiled graveyard, with toxic gasses seeping through every orifice in the room._

_Okay, perhaps something like that does not happen in Italy, but it could. Italy had allied with Germany many times. I had killed my own father... perhaps, they deem me a criminal, and thus a "disruption of perfection". So, they want to get rid of me. No blood. No evidence. No me._

_"Hm? What's wrong, kid?" the man asked me. "You're shaking up, don't worry, there are no monsters in here." _

_I didn't quite liked how he chuckled with his second statement. I may be a child, but I wasn't afraid of things like monsters. I've learned long ago, that there are some things in this world that are far worse than any "monster".  
_

_"Gas..." I choked out, not making any eye contact with the man.  
_

_"Hm?"_

_"It... It's not a gas chamber... is it?" I clarified._

_"Gas chamber...?" the man repeated._

_"You're... not going to kill me... are you?" I shook even more, embarrassed over my words than the fact I could be standing in a potentially threatening room._

_"Kill- Kid you've got it all wrong," the man said. I looked up at him, his eyebrows were raised up in utter confusion. "Kid, it's just a shower room, no gas alright? We can't have you dying on us, kid. You're too important."_

_"Im...Important?" I repeated his words. Since when? Have I ever heard those words used to describe one such as myself? I do not think so. I would have remembered such a phrase. Was this man crazy? _I'm_ important? Perhaps he _is_ going to kill me.__  
_

_"Yup, now, how about this?" the man asked. His lips parted, revealing his bright white teeth, which highly contradicted his skin tone. "How about after this whole fiasco, we'll go out for gelato?"_

_"Gelato?" I felt the saliva build up in my mouth. I was hungrier than I had thought, and gelato was probably the best thing I could ever ask for at the moment. I quickly nodded to that._

_"Alright, for now, while you wash yourself off, I'll go find you some _real_ clothes, alright?" he asked._

_"Alright... but..."_

_"Hm?"_

_"Wha... What's your name?" I asked._

_The man smiled again. "The name's Cesare Vargas."_

* * *

Similarly to that day, I trudged off to the shower room. Unlike the one in the facility, it had private shower stalls. I'll also say that this one was a lot cleaner as well, as the caretakers come in after hours to clean up the entire place. They probably get paid a lot for this, I know I would want that for this crap.

"_Oh merda_!" a voice, which sounded as if the idiot was barely into puberty, came as I entered the room.

I looked at my displeasing audience, of half naked males. Clothed in either nothing or towels around their waists, their eyes seemed to bulge out at me. I'll say, if their genitals could reach the same size as their eyes could, they wouldn't be spending the morning in here. No they'd be spending it waking up next to some hungover up broad.

Even though I was just a single person, I found it funny how they would all freeze when I entered any room or hallway. Well, boys would freeze, girls would gossip and whisper. The guys in the room, were frozen in rather interesting positions. One person was shaving, and although he had just cut himself he hardly even winced, as he traded it to stare at me. I wonder if he even knows how much of his blood just went down the drains.

It was the norm, I don't know what stops them first. My hair? My glare? Or the fact that I bring my sword with me everywhere I go. Oh. I get it now. It's the shower room, and by bringing my sword here, it makes it seem like I'm going to castrate them or something. Dream on, ass. You would _want_ me to castrate you.

I entered a stall, removed my clothes, and turned the shower on. It was nice, showers. It was like artificial rain, only it was warm. There were times, back when I first came here. I'd come to the shower room, when everyone was gone, I'd enter a stall, and turn the shower on cold. I'd sit under the spray, huddled, as I tried to convince myself that I was outside and under _real_ rain.

However, there would always be that time, when I'd look up, and I'd see the tile walls. Then my attention would be focused on my sword, which would lean against the tile, staring at me, as if it awaiting something from me; my answer to it's question.

* * *

_"Hey, you don't look half bad!" Cesare smiled as he looked at me. I shuffled a bit uncomfortably. I was not used to so much attention; I probably should have been, I had Keith._

_He had given me a set of clothes, a white dress shirt, a pair of black trousers, a pair of socks, and a pair of black dress shoes. Plain as it was, at least it wasn't gray. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, there Esther was._

_"Looking good,"_ _She smiled and gave me a thumbs up._

_"So, do you like it?" Cesare asked me.  
_

_I nodded once, to reply to both of them. _

_"Good, now we have to get to the meeting," Cesare said._

_"Meeting?"_

_"Yeah, you _are_ Adamo's kid, right?" I hated him calling me that, yet I still nodded. "Well, you probably know he's dead, and we need you to help us out here."_

_I spoke no more as I walked with Cesare once more. I was happy to be rid of the gown. It was awkward walking around in the thin piece of clothing, with my back exposed. The clothes although a bit formal for my tastes, was better than the gown. _

_I followed Cesare to a large door. He knocked on the door before saying, "I'm here with Adamo's son!" I noticed then, he had not said "Adamo's kid", which somewhat angered me more than the previous title._

_The door opened and I followed Cesare into the room. The room was elegantly decorated, with draping curtains, shelves of text, a desk at the end, with a person sitting on a throne-like chair. Beside that person, was another man, suited in a uniform.  
_

_"Cesare, Squalo," I almost flinched when the man said my name. "Please take a seat." His hand made a gesture to the two chairs in front of the desk, before him. _

_The two of us sat, although unlike Cesare, I could not quite feel comfortable in my seat. I was too tense, and everything was happening to quickly._

_"Squalo, you're probably wondering why you're here," the man said. "You've already met Cesare, my name is Alfredo D. Capp, and this is General Antonio Volpe. The General and I have been put under the case of your father's death, by the Ninth Vongola. Would you lie to hear our findings?"_

_I made not a sound. I just stared at them. _

_"No one really realized Adamo was gone," there was that name again, "until we realized he was late for a meeting a few days ago, a meeting with the Ninth. Adamo may have had a few incidences of tardiness, but when it came to meetings with the Ninth himself, his record was clean. That was what got us worried. _

_"We went to your house, asked your mother and sister. They told me that they went to sleep early, and thought that Adamo had probably left early for work the next morning. Strangely enough, you were also missing, which brought us to wonder if you had some connection to it. _

_"We took a stroll around until we noticed a certain dumpster with more flies around it than that of others. We took a look and we found Adamo. I thought we were pretty unlucky from the beginning. It was raining the night Adamo went missing, and all the evidence was probably going to washed away. However, there was something that wasn't washed away, something that was sheltered under the dumpster. Do you know what it was, Squalo?"_

_I could only guess. I had not left a single thing. So they were no way they could trace it back to me. They was no way. I had cleaned everything, I had worn gloves. The only possible thing that... no._

_It was not on the tip of my tongue, as people say it. It was on my head. The cursed silver hair given to me from my grandfather, whom my father hated. The hair, which could be identified easily._

_"It was a single strand of silver hair, Squalo," Alfredo said. "Now how do you think it got there?"_

_I had had about enough. While it was true I had killed my father, but my father did worse to me. Why the Hell did everyone always take his damn side? Mother never did anything, she just believed her sweet hubby was the only one who had a steady income, and came back home with gifts. Avarice never really thinks about anything unless it has something to do with her benefit. She saw nothing wrong, as long as she got whatever stupid crap she wanted! _

_What the fuck about me? Don't _I_ matter? Can't I have a choice for damn once? I put up with this shit, and I still have fucking nightmares of my father about to tear me limb from limb! __  
_

_"...use..." I struggled to say._

_"Pardon?"_

_"Abuse," I fianlly spat out. "My father... abused me that night." I stood up and unbuttoned the shirt. I tossed it aside and turned to show them the dark purple blotches on my back from that night._

_I had no idea what I was doing, but I felt like something in me had snapped. _

_I liked it.  
_

* * *

I walked down the hallways of chattering males and females. My uniform was shitty, and I wished I wasn't so restricted to wear one. The hallways were rather elegant, with their highass ceilings, long carpets, and gigantic windows. If the people here only had a bigger brain, then perhaps this place would be a bit more enjoyable.

"Oh snap, it's that shark kid!" The "shark kid" has a name you know?

"I heard he killed his entire family with nothing but a kitchen knife!" Close, it was really just my father.

"He's actually kind of cute, in an intimidating and cool kind of way..." ... I did not just hear that.

"That guy's creepy! One day I saw him come out of a stall, completely drenched with his sword over his shoulder! He just looked at me lazily, dude he was like a ghost or something! It was totally freaked!" People get scared by people drenched in water? That's... interesting to know.

I took a left turn to the seventh room to the right. I knocked on the door, but no one opened it. Well of course, I _was _late for class. Teachers never open the door for latecomers, but I didn't give a flying fuck.

I kept knocking and kicking the door. Eventually an shriveled old woman opened the door.

"Yes, who are you?"

* * *

_"_Mio Dio_," the three men gasped._

_"That day," I spoke. "I went out with a friend. When I came back, my father was drunk. He did this to me. The lighter spots were from previous times before. That night, after he was done, I ran away from home. I couldn't take it, so I took refuge with my friend for the night."_

_"It's true," the General said. "These were recent."_

_"I never knew Adamo was this kind of father," Alfredo said sitting back in his seat. "I've known him for so long... was it all a lie?"_

_"He's hated me because of the silver hair I inherited from my grandfather," I said as I placed my shirt back on. "This isn't the first time or anything, it's just... this time I actually did something, I ran."_

_"Hey, Cesare," I tugged on Cesare's sleeve. "I'm hungry now, and you promised me gelato."_

_"E-eh, but..."_

_"You freaking promised!" I yelled. _

_"Alright kid," Cesare smiled. Cesare stood up and we began to leave._

_"Wait, Squalo! What are you going to do now? You'll eventually have to confront the Ninth about this! What will you do then? You'll always be Squalo Adamo and they'll always be able to find you!"_

_"What the fuck are you talking about?" I spun my head around to face them. "Sharks and man will never be together. They are enemies by nature. Sharks kill man, and Man kill shark. It has been this tiring cycle for years. But I will no longer stay stuck in this cycle. _

_"I am not Squalo Adamo, a child who was abused and restrained...I am a shark who will break through man's cage! I am...  
_

* * *

"I am..." I said to the teacher and class before me.

* * *

"Squalo _Superbi_!"

* * *

Nico: Whoo! Squalo! Squalo! Yeah! Requiem of Rain is back!

You can see a lot has changed from the previous chapter. This chapter is like bridge between the last and next chapter. I'll be honest, I had this idea plaguing my mind for so long. I was just thinking how awesome it would be, Squalo talking about his past and present, ending with an introduction of his name!

For this chapter, I chose not to include the opening and closing quotes, simply because... they didn't seem to fit in with the plot of the chapter. I use the quotes usually to increase the suspense. This chapter was not suspenseful, but rather an opening, a formal introduction sort of (halfway through the story, I'm so awesome...).

See, in the story, Squalo's family name is Adamo, which I read meant "man". To sharks, they only have a small selection of animals who pose a threat to them, man being one of them. Squalo, changes his name to Superbi, short for "Superbia", which is the most sinful of the seven sins: Pride.

So what happens next chapter? Well, I think it's about time, that all of the story's most important characters meet up. Can you guess who they are? There's three of them, and one of them is Squalo. The other two... one has already been stated before, and the other shouldn't be too hard when you think about where Squalo is currently in the story.

**Warning spoilers! **By the way, has anyone read the newest Reborn chapter? I find Shitt.P's character really interesting, while she is a bit odd, but I almost envy her self-confidence. Gokudera really wowed me though, even after seeing Tsuna being a pervert (the tests are no surprise) he still stuck to Tsuna. I really like how the manga is progressing. I was sad to see Ryohei get taken away, oh how will Tsuna explain this to Kyoko? I almost couldn't believe Lambo actually won, and I really wondered if the words ten years later!Lambo said were true... I really do not like Julie, being perverted towards Chrome and further aggravating Enma. Something tells me he is at the core of the entire problem. And who else wants to know what happened to Yamamoto? I DO! He was the cheerful one! Now he'll probably be in a wheelchair (and we all saw what happened when he simply broke his arm!). Then Byakuran (or is it Ghost? I can't remember)? It's getting so suspenseful, and I'm excited. **Spoilers end**

Okay, the next chapter will probably come... in about a week or so. Depending on how long it take for me to upload the Diplomacy chapters. Don't worry, for anyone who has noticed, the Diplomacy chapters are really short compared to these ones (which would explain why I take longer to write these ones...). Anyways, I hope you all come back for the next chapter!

Please Read and Review!


	7. Incoming Snow Squalls

Nico: Hello all! It's time for another chapter of Requiem of Rain! Christmas is coming soon, so I decided to have this chapter during the Christmas time.

One quick note, I have this poll on my profile page. It's to determine the ending of Requiem of Rain! So please vote for the ending you want to see for Requiem of Rain, and/or review the type of ending you wish to see in the end! Thank you!

I want to remind everyone, please don't hate me for making this M rated, it's really just for Squalo's swearing (I'm not the swearing type, so if anything sounds... awkward, you'll know why...)

Anyways, onto the chapter!

**I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

* * *

**Incoming Snow Squalls**

"VVVOOOOOIIIII!"

Disgusted by the tangy flavour that assaulted my throat, I coughed out the contents in my mouth. Feeling the frightened stare of every other student, I ignored them for the sight before me. Lying in a pool of red were mushy disfigured strands. They looked like the fat bodies I saw in the frog that I had... dissected in class.

No I did not eat the frog, nor did I dissect it with my sword. No I was not looking at something covered in blood.

It was_ supposed_ to be my lunch.

"VOI! I fucking asked for fucking bolognese on my fucking pasta! What the fuck is it this shit?"

I heard laughter behind me. Of course... that damn bastard!

"Cavallone!" I grabbed the blond by his uniform collar. "You've been here for a mere eleven days, I'm sure you wouldn't want to die here of all places..."

"Come on, Squalo! It was a joke! A joke! Put your sword away!" the blond shook his head in fear as he tried to negotiate. He was a "pretty boy". He was completely hopeless, failed most of his tests, was horrible at fighting, and if it wasn't for his pretty face he would have ended up behind the campus, beaten to a bloody pulp. If it wasn't him, I probably would have killed them. Instead, I released his collar and sat back in my seat in front of his.

"Shut up, you're damn annoying," I grumbled and threw my feet onto the table. "Just get me my bolognese..."

"You always eat bolognese, Squalo," the boy pouted in front of me. Man, he was annoying.

"I also call you Cavallone, and you don't see me changing," I snapped in response.

"You should at least _try_! Come on, Squalo, say it with me: Dino! Dino!" Dino smiled, making hand gestures as he said his own name like an idiot. His hands opened and closed like he was someone playing peek-a-boo.

I don't know how we became "friends". Dino was a new student at our school, and that meant initiation for the older students. They didn't dare try that shit on me, as long as they wanted to keep their genitals.

So Dino was harassed to do the initiation. Dino being a rich, pretty boy, he was easily bullied and picked on. He should thank his damned stars I was there...

* * *

_"Come on new kid! Don't you have the guts to do it?"_

_"I-I don't want to do that!" Dino was cornered in the washroom, shaking before the six boys before him. All of the boys were probably seniors, and enjoyed initiation time. _

_"It's not that hard! We've done it thousands of times!" I scrunched my eyebrows together, wondering just _what_ they did a thousand times. Poor thing..._

_During this time, I was in the washroom as well. I had fallen asleep in the shower stall, however I woke up when the commotion started. The seniors didn't noticed I was in the washroom as well, simply because of the horrible plumbing in the school; the showerhead had stopped spraying water. So I listened in on their conversation as I quietly got dressed._

_"Y-you didn't get in t-trouble...?" came his shaky voice. Shortly after came an eruption of brute laughter._

_"Kid, you will only get in trouble if you get caught, which you won't," the senior's voice hardened on the last few words._

_"How... how can you be sure?"_

_"Because..." the senior's voice now piercing. "If you do get caught, we'll have to initiate yer pretty white ass again. This time we'll do it _personally_."_

_"W-what...? I-I d-d-don't understand?" the small voice spoke, his voice cracking on the last word. _

_"Just go do it."_

_"I t-told you! I don't w-want to! I'll g-get into trouble!" the voice almost sounded a bit bolder, until it was followed with a squeak of surprise. I listened closely as I heard brute laughter once more, and encouraging yells. Almost faintly, I heard gasping and whimpering. Then a creak. The toilet stalls._

_"No! Stop! Please!" _

_"You brought this on yourself, new kid!" More laughter, more whimpers, and groans. I grabbed my sword. _

_"No! No No NO!" _

_"VOI!"_

_Successfully jumping from the other side of the washrooms, I hit the front most senior on the head with the back side of my sword. The five other seniors gasped when they saw me and took a couple steps back._

_"Shark boy..."_

_"Get the fuck out of sight," I simply said. "Or the next time, I'll make sure to have my blade at your balls." The seniors screamed in terror and ran out, leaving the one I had hit in a bit of a daze, until he too got up and ran._

_I sighed, well _that_ was no fun. I was hoping for them to stay, give me something to do. I sheathed my sword carefully, and was about to leave when I heard a small voice._

_"Um... excuse me..."_

_"Hm?" I snapped an annoyed face at the kid. _

_"T-Thank you for saving me!" the boy's face lit up. _

_"Damn right!" I yelled. "Hell kid, if it wasn't for me, you'd have your pretty white face in the freaking toilet! Then your face would really be white! Idiot! What the Hell were you thinking, going along with those cock-idiots anyways?"_

_"Well... I'm new here... I don't have anyone... really..."_

_"Pfft, rich kids," I spat onto the tiled floors. "Always thinking you have nothing..."_

_"But really, thank you for saving me! I... There must be something I can do to repay you! I'll... I'll be your friend!"_

_"Fuck that, kid!" I snapped at him, hitting him with my sheathed sword on the head._

_"Ow... why? Those guys seemed to be really scared of you, and they had to be older than you! Besides, you were in a shower stall alone. That tells me something!"_

_"That I like my fucking privacy?" I sneered._

_"That too, and that you're lonely!"_

_"VOI! I am not fucking lonely!" I was almost convinced at pulling my sword at this kid now. "I don't fucking need a friend!"_

_"At least tell me your name!"_

_"...Squalo Superbi," I told him, quickly regretting it when his face lit up with a smile._

_"Squalo," he extended his hand out, as if beckoning for a handshake. "My name is Dino, the future Boss of the Cavallone Famiglia."_

* * *

"Do I _look_ like a five year old?" I asked in response to his hand actions. Cutting him off before he could answer, I threw a green pepper from my plate at him.

"What was that for?" Dino asked. The boy was in a sense like Keith, easy going and optimistic.

"Calm down, blondie," I rolled my eyes. "Your face, and your half of the table is completely smeared with sauce anyways..." It had become a regular thing between us during lunch time. I would make a wall with condiment containers in the middle of the table. Dino would eat on his side, and I would eat on my side. This way, none of Dino's mess would make it to my side of the table.

This was one of the of biggest differences between him and Keith. He was a klutz, while Keith was lesser so.

"Oh! I didn't notice!" Dino said looking as his side of the table and his messy palms. I've told him many times to go to buy himself a bib, because he _really_ needed one.

"Anyway! You should try something other than bolognese! Like maybe pesto, or carbonara sometimes!"

"I said no," I answered. "I like bolognese! Now go fucking get one, rich boy!" Since I pretty much had no money, being "friends" with Dino was at times a good thing. He was rich, and that came to good use when I needed to buy something, mostly lunches and basic life necessities.

"Oh..." Dino mumbled in defeat.

* * *

Dino was rich alright. He was the future boss of the Cavallone Famiglia, of course he was. He wasn't always happy though.

His parents worked overseas, sometimes in Asia and in North America, leaving their son in Europe. As the future boss, he had high expectations that were to be met as well. His parents sent a tutor, some guy called... Reborn or something. Apparently he's this mafia baby, but he's really strict on Dino. I've seen the scars and bruises his tutor left on him. He told me how if he couldn't understand a question, his tutor would blow the house up. His tutor even put him in a fight with a bear. This kid couldn't even fight with his food, let alone a bear!

Since my room was the only room that held one person, Dino ended up moving into my room. Similar to lunch time, I placed our bags in the middle of the room, to keep my side clean. When I came back from a trip to the washroom, Dino's side was already cluttered with clothes, with Dino buried underneath the pile...

* * *

...which was happening right now as well.

"Squalo~ Help!" a muffled cry came from the pile of clothes. I sighed and trudged through the clothes like it was snow. I kicked the piles of clothes to the side, as I made my way to the largest pile.

"Damn it you stupid idiot!" I tossed a piles of clothes away. "Why the Hell do you have so many clothes?"

"Well... I..."

"If you answer that question, I will stuff your socks down your throat!" I yelled, pulling his blond mop of hair up from out of the pile.

"Ah...thanks, Squalo..." Dino sighed as he sat on a pile of clothes. "You're a real friend."

"Shut up! What are you doing with all your clothes out anyway?" I waited for my answer, but this time there was silence. "Idiot! You can answer the fucking question!"

"Oh! Well, Christmas break is coming soon, and my parents are coming back to Italy. So I'll be spending the break with my parents! So since Christmas break is coming in a few days, I decided it would be a good idea to start packing."

Hm... So it was family.

"What about you, Squalo? What are you doing during the break?"

"Staying here," I simply said.

"What? How come? Don't you have family to go back to? You shouldn't spend Christmas alone!" Dino held some stupidly shocked expression. I had always done this. Christmas was just another day, nothing really important.

"Calm down," I grumbled. "I always spend Christmas alone. It's nothing more than another stupid day..."

"Squalo... I'd invite you to come with me for this Christmas, but my parents..."

"I get it," I said leaning against the wall. "Family is important to you, and you need at least one day in the year to be with them. I'm not stopping you from being with your family. Just... be grateful you have one."

"Squalo..."

"I'm going out..." I said standing up, noticing Dino's eyes followed me. "I... need some fresh air, it smells in here with all your dirty clothes! Make sure you get all of this crap washed before you leave!" With that I left our shared room.

I really didn't know where I was going. I left the room on whim, I really did not want to continue the discussion. I couldn't go to the washroom, since I just came back from it. I decided then, I'd make a stop at the grand hallway.

There wasn't much that made the grand hallway different from the others. It was made with the same materials as the other hallways. It was however, wider and taller than the others. Its most notable feature was the large window on the East side. Now that my room was shared with Dino, and the washrooms became the usual hangout spot for drug dealers of the school, I sometimes spent my time here. It had a beautiful sight. In the morning, it held a periwinkle shade, stubbornly holding on the last bits of the night. In the afternoon, it was a bright baby blue, sometimes accompanied with fluffy white clouds. At night, it was a dark Prussia blue, dotted with white, shining stars, and the largest light, the moon. My favourite time was right now, the sunset. It was a mix of warm colours, flaring with great passion.

"Pretty sight isn't it?"I heard Esther ask.

"Mm..."

"I hear it'll be snowing soon."

"Mm..."

Although I spent a while just staring at the ever changing view, I couldn't help but notice something in my peripheral vision. A person, walking away from the school. A personal all in black.

* * *

_"Are you sure, Squalo? You'll be alright?"_

_"Voi! I should be asking you that, rich boy! I'll be fine now that you're out of my hair! Now get your ass over to your parents before I kick you there!"_

_"Alright, I'll see you in the new year!"_ With that Dino left. Everyone left.

"Hey you still have me!" Esther said sitting beside me. The two of us were sitting in the student's lounge, in the seats right by the fireplace. All the lights were off, with the only light coming from the flickering fire.

I chuckled in response, "Yeah yeah..."

Over the years, I began to see Esther even without a reflection. She became clearer, as if she was actually there. However she wasn't. She followed me, except into the washrooms, and protected me. She told me the reason why I could see her more clearly now was because she had gotten stronger. To her, that meant she was doing a good job looking after me.

There were times I would notice she had a distant expression on her face. In class, I would notice she would be staring at my classmates, as they laughed the class away. I remembered that she once was a living person. Being surrounded by the living when your dead must be hard. I wonder, what exactly does she get in return for looking after me? Why is she doing this?

"Hey."

Snapping me out of my thoughts, I looked up to my left. There was a guy. He wore the student uniform of the school, but he didn't look like any studen I knew. His face was tanned, and his lips were pursed in a displeased frown. His hair was spiky and black, his equally black eyebrows were arched in angry yet questioning expression. His eyes were blood red, staring at me.

Staring into me.

* * *

Nico: And that's it for this chapter! To all those who guessed who Squalo was going to be meeting in the future chapters! Good job! Dino was the first other Reborn character Squalo meets! I made it pretty obvious who the next character is, since the very beginning, so yeah.

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, the title was a bit of a pun. Snow Squall, Squalo, yeah. There have been a lot where I live, sadly enough, my school will never close down... Luckily the Holiday Breaks are starting today!

Yay!

I have this new story I plan to upload, it will be a parody of the game **Aoi Oni** and it's parody **HetaOni**(mostly this one though). It'll be a story revolving around my friends and I, trapped in our school (not a creepy house) where insanity and suspense (and some humour) ensue. Anyone who's interested, it'll probably be coming out... I later in the new year, perhaps... Earliest December, latest July.

Since this is the last chapter of Requiem of Rain of the year(not forever, I'm coming back!), I want to give a shout out to all the readers!

To the 5 readers from United Arab Emirates for your 13 views! To the 1 reader in Lithuania for your 6 views! To 3 readers in United States of America for your 3 views! To the 1 reader from Phillippines, Canada, Singapore, and Finland for your 2 views! To the 1 reader from Slovakia, China, Vietnam, Germany, and United Kingdom for your 1 view!

A special thanks to PrincessHime692718 and Ninja Mafia Mistress for your reviews!

**THANK YOU ALL AND HAVE A VERY WONDERFUL AND SAFE HOLIDAY!**


	8. Cold Front Meets Warm Front

Nico: Hello! It's time for another chapter! I apologize for the long wait. I know I left you all off on a terrible cliffhanger, that and it took me a while to write this chapter. I've been really busy with a new semester, and I've been under a lot of pressure. I'm sorry for the wait.

Plus, Fanfiction had a really strange error that would let me get past the edit button for my published stories. I can't say not uploading was the best experience. I felt really guilty for putting this story behind for a long time, and the awfully tall cliff hanger I left you all at (don't jump from tall heights!). So during the entire wait, I worked diligently on this story. I worked so diligently that I've been paying more attention to my Katekyo Hitman Reborn fandom over my others (I apologize to all the others...).

So, I hope you all enjoy this extra long chapter!

**I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

* * *

**Cold Front Meets Warm Front**

This guy, this was the guy I saw the other day, all dressed in black. He was a also a student. Why the Hell was he still here? Everyone was away for the holidays. Everyone except for me and him.**  
**

"Didn't you hear me, trash?"

Wait a minute. What the Hell did he just say to me?

"_Excuse _me?" Who the Hell did this guy think he was? "You mind repeating that last part?" I'm pretty sure, and by that I mean I know for a fact, that every soul in the academy knew of me. While a majority of them knew not of my name, and all of them _really_ knew squat about me. Nevertheless, everyone knew that the kid with the silver hair was bad news.

As if it were instinct, I felt my sword call to me, as it had many times. I answered its call and reached back for my sword, but instead of the relieving feel of its grip, I felt nothing behind me. I looked around and there was nothing, my sword was gone.

"Were you perhaps looking for this?"

My hearing seemed to have shut off, because I only heard half of what he said. I didn't need to hear all of it to know he had stolen my sword. I shot my attention back towards him. Just as I expected, in his grubby little hands was my sword. Oh this guy was either the biggest idiot in the academy or some big-shot idiot who wanted to die.

"You shouldn't have done that, rich kid," I stood up from my seat. I could tell he was a rich kid, most of the students were. There was also this snotty look in his seemingly "uncaring" blood red eyes. They seemed to throw expletives at my face, while constantly holding a superior look in them. The upwards crook in the corner of his lips formed a disgusting smirk. "You better have a death wish prepared, because you _never_ steal a swordsman's sword."

"Hmph," the kid brushed off my words like dust on his jacket, with a cool demeanor. "You call yourself a swordsman? Really? You're nothing but another brainless child like the rest of the 'students' in this little hole in the ground."

"Did you really just relate me to one of those dick for brains?" Oh this guy was going to die...

"In your words, you are a dick for brains."

I didn't bother listening to him, I just jumped at the kid. This kid, I have no idea who he was, or why he called out to me, but I didn't care. Every last detail of his face disgusted me and I just wanted to rip that smug little smirk of his off his face, and then proceed with the rest of his body parts. This kid decided to tread in dangerous waters, now here comes the shark.

"Just try it, trash."

I stopped just in time, right before I collided into him. He held out his right hand, one finger pointed out and wagged back and forth, taunting me. However, that wasn't why I was staring at his hands. Rather, I was staring what was emanating from them. A bright orange ball of fire in his hand.

"Che..." The damn kid. "A Dying Will Flame, huh?" I knew very little about them, I did know however, that everyone had one. There are only seven flames, and each person excels in one of them. Each flame has a different colour, a different ability, and a different characteristic, which separates them from one another. This one, by colour was obviously the sky flame, but there was something different about this flame. While it was harmonious as a sky flame was to be, there was something strange flickering within it. Flames were free, and they were never condensed into such a tight shape. Knowing that, the current situation was not in my favour.

"What, scum? Afraid to play with fire?"

Oh this kid was really starting amuse me now. "Hmph, kid you should be the one scared now." He may have the power of a Dying Will Flame, but I knew so far, I was faster than him. I darted around him quickly, and just as he moved his arm to follow, I was already behind him. I snatched my sword back from his loose grip, and held it horizontally, the blade just inches away from his neck.

"What now, rich kid? Afraid to play with knives?" I had his life in my hands. One slice, and his jugular would be spewing with blood. One hack, and his windpipe would be cut open. Just one action, and he was dead.

"Don't do it Squalo," I heard Esther behind me. For a second, my grip on my sword softened and retracted from the kid's neck slightly.

"Scum." He took a step to his left, keenly avoid the blade and swung his fist of fire back(1). I retracted my sword and jumped back, damn this kid was getting on my nerves. The kid stepped forward, and gracefully turned to face me. Ugh, once again there was that disgusting smirk on his face. "And you call yourself a swordsman?"

I want to fucking kill him.

But Esther would never let me do it. Esther never really allowed me to kill anyone since I had met her. There were many times she'd stop me.

* * *

_"Voooiiii... Luccino, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"_

_"Miiih! I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Luccino whimpered as he backed up against the wall.  
_

_That idiot, Luccino_(2)_ was another student of the school. He was younger than me, and new to the school. He was a naive child, and quite a pretty boy like Dino. However, he was was a lot more timid than Dino. From what I knew about him, he had an interest in the arts; fashion especially. However he was a klutz, and I dare say, he was a klutz at the most dangerous times._

_That evening after class, I was in the art room waiting for Dino to find his project in the art storage, right next door. It was such a nice night, I found myself idly staring out the window, to the night sky, as I leaned against the wall. Luccino was in the room with me, painting a picture. While Dino was taking his sweet time, Luccino ran out of paint and when to get more. On his way back to his easel, he tripped on flat ground and the thick acrylic paint flew out and at my face. _

_"Lu...cci...no..." my anger seethed through each syllable of his name. I could not quite see, with the paint over my eyes, but I could hear the art wimp in front of me crying and sobbing for forgiveness. I grabbed my sword. I felt my senses shut down, it was like that night four years ago. Suddenly everything seemed to calm and everything about the moment seemed heavenly. The crying, the anger, the fear, it was so...  
_

_"Stop Squalo!" I heard Esther, and felt my entire body rendered motionless. I began to hear the sound of choking sobs again, however that crying disappeared as I heard footsteps pounding frantically against the tiled floor.  
_

_"What the fuck Esther?" I yelled wiping the viscous liquid from my face. I saw Esther standing before me, and Luccino was long gone. "Why did you...!"_

_"And then what huh?" Esther interrupted me, sternly. "Squalo, I was too weak to stop you before, now I have the power to keep you from doing something you'll regret."_

_"And how the hell do you know I will regret killing that wimp? The world would be better off without weaklings like him!"_

_"Look at your hands Squalo," Esther snapped. Huffing, I did as she dictated. I almost screamed. My hands were covered with blood. Where the hell did it come from? When did it get there? How did it get there? Who did it come from...? _

_"It's not blood," Esther spoke, I shot my head back at her. I could only imagine that my eyes were wide, I could tell I was stunned. "It's the paint, it's red like blood. However, Squalo, imagine for a moment that the paint really was blood. The blood of Luccino, on your hands. What would you do then? You've got no possible alibi now, Squalo. You were lucky to get out of the last predicament, now anything you do or say will be held against __**you**__."_

_It was paint, huh? Wow, this was haunting. Just this morning, my class was reading Shakespeare's Macbeth. From what I got of the reading, Lady Macbeth went crazy after killing King Duncan. Even though she pushed her husband into killing the king, she got hit the hardest with guilt. The doctor and the maid watched as the crazed woman tried to rub the imaginary blood off her hands_(3)_. Now here I was, looking at my hands. Even though it was paint, I could see the blood on them. I could feel the blood on them._

_"Do you remember your father, Squalo?" Esther asked me. "Whenever your father got angry, he would beat you. He would make sure you were scared. He would make sure you would never tell. Now look at yourself, Squalo. Do you want to become like him, no, worse than him? He just beat you, but you will kill anyone who's too close. Is that what you want to be, Squalo? Like you father...?"_

_I leaned back against the wall. Adamo was like that. Me? I'm just becoming worse. I let out stifled chuckle, and answered weakly, "No..."  
_

_"Maybe in the future, Squalo," Esther said with a sigh. I looked up and there was a sympathetic smile on her face. "When the time comes when life requires you to kill, then you will kill. Until then, please, endure it."_

_"Yeah." I said and walked over to Luccino's easel. Just what was he working on so late at night? Held up by the easel, I found a canvas. Painted beautifully, was a painting of me. I felt a bit disgusted, but slightly mesmerized at the workmanship of the piece. There on the canvas, I stood leaning against the wall, staring out the window, the exact same position I was in before Luccino fell. My silver hair seemed to shine, in fact, the area around my figure seemed lighter than the dark background I was in. It all seemed rather peaceful, rather eerie too.  
_

_I scrunched my nose at the picture still, something was not right; something was missing. Taking my thumb, and as artistically I could, I smudged the red paint over my clothes, my skin, and created a blood red sword, held in my hand._

_I liked it much more.  
_

* * *

"I don't kill for pleasure," I simply said, answering the kid's question. "I simply teach knuckle-headed kids by pummeling them."

"You'll never reach the greatness the Varia Leader holds with that ideal," the kid said. "I'm sure, as any swordsman before, you aim to be as powerful as him, as great as him; a Sword Emperor."

"Tyr," I said. I knew of Tyr. He is the Sword Emperor, world renowned for his mastering of the sword, and his leadership over the Varia, Vongola's elite independent assassination team. With a such a great swordsman for a leader, it was no surprise they were revered by many. I was quite envious of that man, however I prided myself with the idea that I too could obtain such greatness. "Hell, I can and will become greater than him."

"Those are some bold words for a piece of trash," the kid smirked. "I don't think they accept scum like you as the leader of Varia."

"Oh I don't give a damn about leading Varia," I scoffed. "His dead body can continue to lead it for all I care, all I aim is for Sword Emperor."

"Hmph," the kid chuckled. "You're interesting for trash, what's your name, scum?"

"Isn't it customary to give your own name before asking someone there's?" I raised an eyebrow. I really hate this kid. He was calling me interesting? What am I, a display at a museum? "Whatever, my name is Squalo Superbi."

"Squalo," the kid chuckled once more. "Xanxus."

* * *

I kept that painting, Luccino painted of me. I thanked him for it as well, and tried my best to apologize for trying to kill him. He was as shocked as I left him, but after I asked for the painting, he had a nervous smile on his face.

I keep the painting on my side of the room I share with Dino. Right in front of my bed, so I could see it. Dino took an interest in the painting, saying it was really good. I didn't know if it was good or not really, it just rung out to me. It gave me a sense that I was looking at myself, and myself that was in the picture was a killer, caged in a dark room, always staring out the window for freedom. Perhaps, that's why I always look at it when I'm alone, to make sure that that Squalo doesn't come out until I need it.

Later during the break, I would see that Xanxus kid around. I really don't like him. We would sometimes pass, exchanging not even a glance. Still he did remind me of Tyr, if I there was ever a time I could let the other Squalo out, it was against him. I decided that I would begin training to defeat the Sword Emperor.

* * *

"You're what?"

"What?" I raised an eyebrow at Dino's exclamation; I was a bit disgusted when tomato sauce came spewing out of his mouth(4). The Winter Break was finished and all the students had returned to the academy. Dino and I were in the cafeteria, having lunch. Dino, as usual, was making a mess of his side of the table, and thanks to his spewing, he got tomato sauce onto my side.

"What do you mean you're going to fight Tyr?" Dino whispered, concern was drawn all over his face. "You've got to be kidding me, Squalo. You could get killed! You know the title of Sword Emperor is only obtained when the challenger kills the current holder. That means Tyr will do anything and everything he can to make sure he keeps that title, including killing you!"

"Will you relax?" I said taking a drink of water. "I don't plan on getting killed, who in the _right _mind plans on getting themselves killed when trying to achieve their goals?"

"How can you be so sure you'll win then, Squalo?" Dino asked. "Tyr is Sword _Emperor_ for a reason. You may be able to scare everyone in the school into a heart attack, but how can you be so confident that you'll defeat, no, kill him?"

"Through daily training," I said placing my glass down. "My plan is to train everyday after class, on my own. I'm going to get stronger, and to do this I plan to study every last sword style there is, and eventually I will see through every and any opponent. I'll be unbeatable."

"Squalo, don't take this as an insult, but do you think you have the capacity to hold in so much information and theories?" Dino asked. "I may know not about sword styles, but what I do know is that most people practice one particular style for their entire lives. Why? Because they can master it, and because it takes a lifetime to master one. How do you expect to memorize and master all of them?"

"Hmph," I smirked. "Just watch me(5)."

* * *

I was not a very patient person, and reading books made me fidget uncomfortably. However, if I was to be able to walk the road I planned, I had to take it. I started visiting the school library more and more often. I'd research the different styles, and with each I would train to each one. Every detail, every step, every movement seemed so natural to me. I was a bit hesitant though. there was no one to tell me if I was doing a stance wrong, or if I was off by a couple inches. Everything I learned from the books, I would copy, and quickly everything became so easy it was questionable if it was correct. Perhaps I was just a quick learner, perhaps.

As the nights passed, I learned more and more styles. I kept in my mind, when the day came when I had recognized and found all the faults of each style, I would create my own, one that could not be defeated. My style for me, and me alone.

"Hey, Trash."

I turned around reluctantly to the source of the rude remark. Once again I was facing the smug face of that Xanxus kid. Really, can't he see I'm training? Still, now that I think about it. I haven't seen him since I started training. That day when everyone gathered on the first day back.

* * *

_"Ugh, where is Dino..." I walked around in the crowd of formally dressed people. All these people, students of the academy, all prettied up in their expensive suits and disgusting dresses. Me, I was wearing the most tolerable formal clothing I could get off Dino before he had left. Even though it was the most tolerable, I still felt uncomfortable in it. It reminded me of that school uniform I was supposed to wear, four years back. _

_The suddenly, I felt something. I turned quickly only to be faced with more crowd. Craning my neck between the overly dressed up students, I found it. _

_Xanxus was standing alone by one of the entry ways, partly concealed in the shadows. Something was different about him. Something bad. The smug smirk on his face was replaced with a rage filled scowl. Just the sight of him, shook me. This wasn't the pompous rich kid I met two weeks ago, this was something terribly bad, and terribly strong. _

_Suddenly we locked eyes, and for a good minute, we were just staring at each other. Each second, I was wondering why I was staring at him. This violent intent that emanated from him, even I wasn't strong enough to fight against it.  
_

* * *

"What do you want...?" I huffed. I really didn't want to speak with him at the moment, I was busy with my training. It wasn't difficult, learning each style, what was difficult was pushing myself to make each movement to perfection. What was more difficult was having someone close by while I was training. It was disturbing me.

"A little bird told me you are planning to take the title of Sword Emperor," Xanxus scoffed, with a slight smirk.

A little bird...? Dino! "What the fuck did you do to him?" I walked over to him, ignoring the fact he was stronger than I, and grabbed him by the collar. Pulling his collar, our foreheads clashed. "I swear, if you did anything to him, I will fucking kill you right here, and no breed of dog or man will ever find your rotting corpse..."

"Hmph, calm down," he said blandly. "He's alright, I simply asked him. He seemed rather hesitant to tell me so..."

"So?" I was growling now. Dino and I were never meant to become friends. If it wasn't for me saving his ass in the showers, we probably would never have known each other. He was just a pretty boy who could have made friends with a lot of other kids in the academy. I was a swordsman, who intimidated a majority of the academy's students, as well as staff. Somehow, we became friends and roommates. Somehow, we ended up living by the rule "You take care of what you save" and I ended up looking after the kid, while he paid me back by paying for my lunches and various school supplies I needed.

And now, I was damn worried for that kid.

"_So_, I told him I was a 'friend' of yours," Xanxus said rather calmly. "And he told me your plans."

"Heh," I released my hold on him and crossed my arms, with my sword still held. "So what about it?"

"You do know, Varia will need a leader, and since you plan on killing both the Sword Emperor and the Varia Leader, who do you suppose they're going to appoint as the new Varia leader?"

"Why do you care?"

"Let's have a deal, Squalo Superbi," Xanxus said, moving his arms in a sign of declaration. "If you do defeat Tyr, the Sword Emperor and the Varia Leader, you can take the title of Sword Emperor and I will take the title of the Leader of Varia."

"Hm? What does becoming the Leader of Varia do for you?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Hmph, well, for my part, when I take the title of Varia Leader, you will become a part of Varia, how does Varia Second-In-Command sound to you?"

"But why?" I asked. It was a nice offer, Varia was a grand group, and having a Sword Emperor in Varia would boost its greatness. However still, just what would this guy get in becoming Varia Leader, and having me in his team?

"Well, I'm going to become Vongola Decimo," Xanxus said.

He what...?

* * *

Nico: Ah you guys don't know (or maybe you do) how happy I am to be finally finished this chapter! I started this chapter back during the Winter Break, and I've been working and thinking how to write this. I kept on second thinking, whether or not I was getting Xanxus's personality right and what I should have happen in this chapter. I hope it's right.

Just a couple notes:

1. This move is a defensive move I learned through self-defense classes, minus the flame of wrath.

2. Just thought I'd mention, I do not think Luccino is an actually name. It was a name I created for my Minccino in my Pokémon White game (which has been taking over my life). It was supposed to be a mix of the names Ludwig and Feliciano (Hetalia reference!)

3. For those who are curious, this is Macbeth Scene 5, Act 1. For those who are also reading my Hetalia fanfiction **Diplomacy** this will not be the last time this reference appears (psst, was that a spoiler?)

4. I need to thank one of my friends for this. I have a friend who is very... eccentric, and she inspires me for most of Dino's parts.

5. In case you don't know, these words did not come from a movie (I know a lot of movies have this phrase), however this phrase originally came from Pierre Elliot Trudeau while he was Prime Minister of Canada during the October Crisis of 1970.

6. Also, once again the title is a bit of a pun (I guess). When a cold front and a warm front meet, they create an occluded front, which can create a tornado, and tornadoes wreck havoc, which is how I describe Squalo and Xanxus.

I'm please to see that during the wait, I got a couple more votes on the poll on my profile. I've started getting ideas for the ending, but they're still not final. I'd say that the poll will end a week after chapter nine is out, so please vote!

I should thank all you readers again, especially the two anonymous readers who recently reviewed. I had recently had thoughts of putting the story on hiatus or just cancel the story. You both mentioned I portrayed Squalo well, and I thank you for it (I was worried, as my personality differs greatly from his...). You also told me through your reviews that there are still people who enjoy reading this story, and I shouldn't give up. Thank you.

I'll keep working hard on this story. I also think I will be getting more inspiration and motivation since Spring is coming, and that means rain. I hope you all continue to read and enjoy this story!

Please Read and Review!


	9. The Rain's Pledge to the Sky

Nico: Hello all! It's been a while... a long while... I apologize for the wait. I've been sort of in and out of this story. I've been trying to work out a good story line for this chapter. However I'm so glad to be finished! So I hope you enjoy this new chapter of Requiem of Rain!

One quick message, I believe that summer break is coming to an end where I am, so soon I'm going to have to pack up my story notes for a while. So I apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

**I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

* * *

**The Rain's Pledge to the Sky**

"VOOOOoooiiii! What the Hell are you doing?"

"Oh... calm it down Squalo, I'm trying my best..."

"Don't give me that shit!" I yelled at his pitiful image. "You're the one who asked me to train you, so you better not waste my time!"

It was just as I had said. Dino, for some reason, asked me to train him. At first I turned away, I wasn't just some home tutor or something. Just because we were friends didn't mean I would give in some of my time to help him. Besides Dino already had a tutor, but he kept pushing and pushing, until I agreed. So, with every practice I would thoroughly remind Dino just what level of Hell he had just stepped into.

Training him was very, very exhausting. I was beginning to wonder just why he had picked a whip as a weapon in the first place. He couldn't even hold it right! His stances were all off, and the only person who got hurt was himself! He was hopeless, and I could not believe why I didn't just let him go. He was downright pitiful like a stray dog who had been kicked around and left to whimper on the side of a road.

Of course, a lot of my own time for training had greatly dropped as I was spending more time training Dino. That really did not help me, how could I become the Sword Emperor with this kid pulling me down like an anchor to a ship? Don't get me wrong, I was still training. I began skipping classes here and there to regain the time I spent with Dino. Early in the morning, while Dino was asleep, I'd train. Lunch time, I would train, while Dino watched and ate his lunch messily. Then after classes, is when I'd spend time training Dino.

Of course, while I was training him and myself, I still couldn't get Xanxus's words out of my head that one night.

* * *

"Well, I'm going to become Vongola Decimo," Xanxus said. At the time, I really was not sure if I should believe him. Sure the statement sounded ludicrous. You can't _just become_ Vongola Decimo, you'd have to have a blood relation with the current Vongola Boss. To add to my point, this guy did not look like he would be related to the Vongola Boss, by blood.

On the other hand, the look on his face held still. It did not waver at all. It showed that he was serious and he was determined. However it was not the confident kind of determined. No, it looked like the "I'm going to kill all the scum who gets in my way" determined. Ever since I saw him that day, he'd been different. No longer smug or overly confident. He looked like he wanted to kill everything in his path. Trust me, if looks could kill, everyone in the academy would already be dead by now.

"So?" I tried to sound as composed as possible, although I knew not to sound too challenging. He explained to me something that sounded downright mutinous. Something that could get us in trouble, and sent to the death sentence. It was all this and more, however something in my body itched for it. I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted it.

* * *

"Okay, that' enough for today," I said with a sigh. As I said, we'd train after classes. With every minute Dino was late, the harder I'd train him. We'd train until the sun began to set, because then it was back to my own training. "Go take a shower or something, you smell terrible."

"Thanks again for training me, Squalo," Dino said with a smile. He was still panting and his face was flushed. Dino obviously had his moments of not liking my training. I would hit him with a wooden stick every time he messed up, and I've hung him upside down often until he begged for mercy. Even after all of this, Dino would brush it off and thank me for the training every time. I'm never training anyone ever again.

"Yeah yeah, whatever, Dino, now get out my sight!" I turned around and picked up my sword. Finally it was time for my own training. I unsheathed my sword, and placed the scabbard safely away, when I saw Dino still standing behind me. While I was able to tolerate him, I was used to training alone at night. "What? You want a couple more beatings to help you sleep?"

"Euh... no, it's just..." Dino seemed at a loss for words. He just stared at me with an embarrassed look on his face. What was with him? He was starting to annoy me. This was when I got most of my training, and I was slowly losing my time and patience. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and chuckled before finally answering, "Well... that was the first time you call me by my name, Dino..."

I stared at him for a moment. As far as I knew I had always called him Dino, at least in my thoughts. Then again, when I thought hard, I realized that I never actually vocalized his true name aloud. I guess then, that would make sense that he was acting strangely. Had I really never called him by his name?

"So?" I spat out as I stared at Dino with the most serious look I could force on myself. As I turned away from him, I was hoping that Dino was dense enough not to notice I had just realized myself. It would put a chip in my pride and I doubt Dino would ever let me live it down. "That _is_ your name, _isn't_ it? Idiot."

"Squalo I... Squalo!" That was all I heard before I felt something heavy hit me from behind, and wrapped itself around me. I grunted loudly to exert the pressure, that's when I saw arms around me. I was not sure how to react, and I could only let the mixture of emotions bubble within me as Dino hugged me. He was babbling like the idiot he was, thanking me, and saying a jumble of things I simply could not translate back to an intellectual language.

I do not know how long we were in that position for. Long enough to take up some of my training time. How was I reacting to this? I'm not sure myself. I simply did not know what my emotions were doing. I felt annoyed since it was Dino being his usual self. I felt angry since it was Dino being his usual self, although now he was clinging onto me. I felt confused because his sudden burst had caught me off guard, for the second time in the day now. Then I felt this strange feeling, I had no idea it was, but it was strange. It almost made me feel glad to have Dino as my friend.

Maybe... that was it? Maybe, just maybe.

* * *

"Hey there." The blade did not even get a chance to reach the target. I stopped before it hit when I heard that voice. I did not even have to turn around to find out who had called me, or even if they _were_ calling me. I knew who it was, and I just had to turn around.

"Esther!" She smiled when I called her out. I had not seen her for the longest time. Even when I looked into mirrors, she was not there. I was beginning to lower myself into worrying about her, but that is pretty pathetic of me now that I think about it. However, now she was back, and I could not restrain myself. I was glad to see her again. "Where have you been? Aren't guardians supposed to stick to their person or something?"

"Sorry about that, Squalo," Esther chuckled, still with a smile on her face. "Something came up, but don't worry, I've still been watching over you. You've been skipping classes, you've been training yourself as well as Dino, I also saw that little hug you shared with Dino~"

"Voi!" I felt the blood rush to my head. Shit, I hope I wasn't blushing. "It was that idiot's fault, okay? He fucking tripped and fell on me. That's it!" Even after throwing my excuse, Esther simply smiled and shrug. My denial was pathetic and it obviously did not fool Esther. It only further aggravated me when she decided to humour me and accept my denial as a fact, but her words were laced with sarcasm.

That training session was ignored so that I could spend some time with Esther. She was a friend and the only one I could talk to. Well, the only friend I could say anything to. Dino was too soft and innocent, and he did not know about my past. It would be better if he never found out. I can't even think of anyone else who would be considered as my friend. Xanxus was at the most my ally, however I was not sure if I should ever say that to him. So in the current time, Esther was the only one I could really lean on. She knew me and she was always there for me. She made my childhood ordeals... a little less lonely.

Since she was my friend, I was able to notice something was off about her. As I had spent more time with her, she became clearer to see, or perhaps I was just losing my sanity. However, today she was not so clear. She was in fact translucent. I could make out her body and several obvious features of her. However, not everything was so clear. Was it just me?

It had to be.

* * *

"Voi! Dino! What did I say about getting my fucking lunch right?" I slammed my fist against the table.

"Oh come on, Squalo..." For some reason I know not of, Dino always thought that using such a pathetic tone of voice would further convince me. It, in fact, pissed me off further. At the moment, we were in the academy cafeteria. Like I said before, I usually trained during meal times, and Dino would watch. However, today Dino urged me to join him for lunch. I finally agreed, but just wait to see what I have in store for him when we continue on with his training...

"I've told you time and time again, Dino: Bolognese!" Just like the other times I joined him for lunch, Dino would always bring me a plate of something else. He never gave up, as good as a trait it might be, it was something I loathed about him. So what did he bring me today? I did not even know. It was pasta, that's all I was able to dissect from just looking. However, it was covered in some foreign sauce that was obviously not bolognese.

"But please, Squalo, just hear me out?"

"What?"

"It's..." Dino squirmed awkwardly. That pretty boy. There were times I just wondered just how many Y chromosomes he truly had. If anything, he was far too feminine to be the future boss of the Cavallone Famiglia. For one he was lacking a lot of strength and muscle. For another, he was pretty much a talking fish bone(1) holding a whip. Comical? Yes. Threatening? Fuck no.

"Well...?" I asked him. My patience always fluctuated when I was with Dino. Most of the time, it was thin as tissue paper, which would lead to me yelling at the kid. Rarer times, it was able to hold back the rage and accept the kid as the idiot he was. However now I was bordering towards impatience.

Dino took a deep breath then smiled. "I made it. The dishes. I... I was practicing for my hospitality class and... and, I'd like to see what you think? I know its not bolognese, I'm not sure what it is myself, but I worked really hard on an original recipe... so... could you try it and tell me what you think?"

I looked down at the platter and then back at Dino. Now that I looked at him, there were various marks on his face, from various ingredients. I looked at his hands, which were pinker than usual. He probably touched the pot of boiling water. This kid... I was surprised at the very fact he survived cooking anything in the first place.

"Trash." Well that totally mutilated the moment.

Slightly with reluctance, I turned my head towards the source of the insult. I already noticed Dino was surprised with Xanxus appearing out of the blue and insulting me. As far as Dino knew, I was probably the most strong and awesome person in the academy. I liked that part about him. Xanxus stood at the side of our table and stared down at me. He did not need to say anything, his eyes said it all.

"I'll be right back Dino," I said. I felt a pang of guilt as I left Dino sitting alone. I got out of my seat and followed Xanxus out and into the hallway. The hallways seemed to be void of all life, and as such it was dreadfully quite.

"I've been noticing you've been skipping classes," Xanxus said without turning to face me. The emptiness and silence of the hallway seemed to make him seem a lot more threatening and loud. Then he turned to me, and our eyes locked. I restrained myself from flinching away. Glaring at him was no longer an easy task, with that murderous aura he seemed to hold everywhere with him. "Training for the kill?"

"Of course," I smirked, hoping that Xanxus could not see through my face and words and see the fear I secretly held for him. It was not entirely fear, it was more like revere. Xanxus was not the easiest person to be with. The strength that I could sense in him was something more than I could even _try_ to rebel against. I knew that if I did, I'd probably meet my father in Hell, which is something I don't plan on doing. Ever. However it was also this strength that made me respect him, like a knight to his king. It was not in my position to oppose him, for I respected him far too much. "I need to be ready, unless I want to end up the one dead."

"You better not, scum," Xanxus said. His eyebrows clenched, and his lips nearly formed a scowl. "I've told you the plan. So if you decide to fuck up, you'll meet your death from me."

"Alright," I tried my best not to show any signs of how truly nervous I was. However, I'm pretty sure Xanxus had already noticed the sweat that had started to form when he called me out in the beginning. "...So, when will I meet the others? I mean, the rest of the team?"

"Hmph," Xanxus smirked. It was a rare sight to see nowadays, although it's not entirely the most pleasant thing I've ever seen. "You'll meet them when you've killed Tyr."

With that, Xanxus turned around and left. Figures. He was shrouded in mystery, and shrouded everything else in mystery. Without anything left to do, I headed back tot he cafeteria, back to our table where Dino patiently sat.

"What was that all about?" Dino asked. Worry was written all over his face. Dino often got worried for me and I often got worried for him. I guess that's something real friends do. Although we were friends, I could not tell him. I did not want him to worry any more than he already had. What Xanxus had planned had nothing to do with Dino, and the last thing I wanted was for Dino to get mixed into it. It would not look good on the future boss of the Cavallone Famiglia.

"Nothing," I pulled a smile and sat back in my seat. I looked at my plate again, it was still filled with Dino's cooking. I sighed silently and grabbed my fork. It was not bolognese, but I did not care at the moment. Meeting with Xanxus exhausted me, and I needed something to pick me back up. Whether it was something I liked or not, it was something. I twirled my fork in the mass of pasta, getting a small mouthful just to try it. I took a breather and brought the pasta covered fork to my mouth.

"...Well?" I stared at Dino. His face seemed to be a mix of glee and anxiety. He seemed happy that I finally ate something besides bolognese. He was also probably happy that I finally decided to eat his cooking. Then again, he was probably anxious to find out what I thought of it. Would I slam my fist against the table and curse out loud so all of Italy would hear me? Or would I just calmly ask for my bolognese?

I swallowed, and felt the partly chewed pasta slither down my throat. The taste was tangy with tomato, however a lingering taste of spice pricked at my taste buds. The sauce was neither too thick or too runny, and it complemented the texture of the pasta, which was not too soft and cooked well(2).

"Not bad..."

* * *

Today was the day. I had trained myself for this day. With help from one of Xanxus's teammate, who I have yet to meet, we located the location of the Sword Emperor, Tyr. How did I know today was the day? I didn't. I could not even say the reason I had was even valid in any way or form. It was just... some kind of feeling.

I got up that morning in my usual way. I got up before Dino, and as usual, his half of the room was a mess. I shook off my drowsiness and sat up on the edge of my bed. My head hurt, it was pulsating, as if my heart had decided to spend the night in my brain. It hurt like Hell. I tried to shrug it off, but it stayed. Then I looked up. There, in its usual spot, was my sword. My head still hurting, I reached out to my sword, with or without a headache, I had to get to my morning training.

I was awoken when I grabbed the grip of my sword. I was not even sure myself, whether or not the pulsating had silenced or grew louder. I felt a spark travel throughout me at the feeling. I could not describe it. It was like a rush of adrenaline, pleasure, anger, and excitement.

_"Let. Me. OUT."_

Two days. That was how long the battle took. It was different from fighting a target, or fighting an invisible foe. It was nothing like reading the books. The books never said anything about dying. The targets never fought back. It was up to myself. I had to fight this battle, and I had to win, or else I'd die.

_"Are you even trying?" _Something in me kept taunting me. Mocking me. Enraging me. It did not sound like Esther, in fact I had not seen Esther since the day had dawned. In fact, the voice hardly sounded human. It kept pushing me, trying to hit a nerve and make me lose focus. I knew what it was, however, I could not give in. Not yet.

The entire first day had been wasted, but not entirely. Tyr ferociously wanted to protect his title, and showed no mercy, even if he did, I was not aware of it. The entire first day was spent on the defense. I kept to the ground, and let my senses and wits take over. Through this, I was getting nowhere, however I was gathering information.

Tyr was worthy of his title. His expertise in swords was great, however I was greater. I had to be. Tyr was agile, and quick. However that did not mean his various attacks lacked power. I was able to block, if not dodge, most of them. However, I could not last long if all I was doing was blocking and dodging. I thought as hard as I could to find a strategy. He was muscular, as I hear most people from where he is from are, which only added to the power of his slashes and thrusts.

He held his sword in his right hand, unlike me. His sword was a strange model. It was definitely a sword, but in ways it resembled a spear. Perhaps, where he was from(3), those types of swords were common. Since his sword was so much like a spear, his attacks mainly focused on thrusts, which were harder to block when all you had was a sword.

The second day came and I was still defending. I had gathered enough information, except one thing that made no sense. As the Sword Emperor, I would be expecting trickier methods to kill me. For instance, he could catch me from behind, with his sword raised to his right. I would have immediately responded by blocking the upcoming attack. By doing that my left side would be unguarded. Surely someone of his stature knew he could simply switch hands and strike me there? Not saying I wanted to die, but he had every chance. I could see it in his eyes, he wanted to keep his title, and that would mean killing me. As the Sword Emperor, killing would be a simple thing to do, so why hadn't he? Was he playing easy on me? That fucking bastard...

"Don't fuck with me!" I yelled as he jumped out once again for another attack. He thrust his sword out towards me. I spun a dodge so that I was on the opposite side of his blade. I aimed at the fuller of his sword, and hit(4). Tyr let out a grunt as I panted.

To my surprise, I watched as Tyr's sword fell to the ground. Tyr's right arm disobeyed his master's control, and cringed in an uncontrollable manner. I realized then what I had done. The hit to his sword created a shock wave that turned into a powerful blow into an oscillating wave that stunned his muscles. That meant he would not be able to use his right hand for a while. But why wasn't he picking up his sword?

"Voi," I sneered at him. It angered me, the thought that he was not taking the battle seriously. I pointed at his sword with my own. "Why aren't you picking up your sword? If you aren't even going to take this battle seriously you might as well fucking give the damn title of Sword Emperor to me!"

I knew that he did not understand my language, but I was pissed. This was dishonourable. Tyr smiled, I guess he must have gotten the message through my hand gestures towards his sword. He then removed his cape, and I got my answer. His left arm was scarred with what looked like bite marks. The scars ran down his arm to wrist, where his arm ended. Right where a human hand was supposed to be, was nothing. His arm ended in a rounded end.

He was not playing easy on me, he simply only had one arm to work with. If all this time he was fighting with only one hand... then I was the one being dishonourable. I had the advantage with an extra appendage. It was not fair.

I felt something bubble inside me, something vicious. I felt my entire body twitch with the sensation within me. I had this idea, a crazy idea. It would probably kill me, or it would probably lead to my defeat in the battle. It didn't matter though. The thought of it was eating away in my brain. I wanted to do it. I wanted it. I raised my sword. Tyr closed his eyes. I swung.

"VvvvooooooOOOOOOIIIII!" I screamed. I seriously screamed. My own voice was hurting my ears. I hadn't felt anything like it before. It was worse than any form of pain I had experienced before. The pain was excruciating, but I couldn't help but smile when I heard the thump as something landed on the ground.

My left hand.

Tyr stared at me in disbelief. I couldn't begin to understand why, because I was too busy with something else. I took of my uniform blazer and wrapped it around my wrist, but even still the metallic smell of blood escaped through the fabric. Never before had this happened to me before, but I felt a rush of adrenaline in me. The smell of my own blood...

I grabbed my sword, now with my right hand and pointed it to Tyr. "Now we're fucking even!" Tyr struggled up, with his sword in his hand. We finally fought. It was different using my right hand to fight, however I had practiced with it. I knew my opponent inside and out, I just needed to finish the battle before I ran out of blood. However even that didn't phase me. I had this unexplainable rush inside me, like something had broken out.

I had not noticed but I was laughing throughout the battle. With every swing of my sword, my laughing only grew louder and prouder. I could see that Tyr was staring at me, confusion spilled over his face. I probably looked and sounded like a madman. Wonderful.

"These are dangerous waters you're swimming in, Sword Emperor," I could not restrain my own enjoyment. This was all too fun. The rush, the exhilaration, oh it was more than anything I had ever felt. I held my sword out in the same way Tyr had. "If you're not careful... you'll find yourself in the fangs of the shark!"

Copying his moves from before, I thrust my sword out at him(5). Once, twice, again and again! Faster! Faster! A few of the thrusts hit Tyr, but they were enough to force him back. Tyr scoffed when he saw that I was simply using his attack back at him, only faster. Tyr however did not realize something, he was backing up right into my trap. Tyr grunted when he backed up into a tree. Caught him!

"Now comes for the charge of the shark!" I held out my sword, then I started to run. While running, I swung my sword in a diagonal action(6). Tyr was frozen in place, and it was now my time. My kill.

I blanked out for a brief moment, but then I regained my vision. My sword was covered in blood, and there before me lay Tyr, with two incisions that formed an "X" shape. Blood spilled out of him like waterfall. I had not noticed it before, but it was raining. I looked up and let the rain wash it all away. This tranquility that came from rain, it always came for me. It calmed me down and it robbed me of my strength.

I had done it. I had killed the Sword Emperor and I had perfected my own style.

* * *

So who would have thought that cutting off your own hand was a really bad idea?

Well, it sure seemed like a good idea at the time. However, because of that, I had to spend time cooped up in a hospital. It was all this complicated shit that troublesome to explain. Surgery here and there, and I was done. My wrist sure looked a Hell lot like Tyr's. It was still strange though. Even though I could not see my hand, I still felt like I could control it. The doctor said it was just something to do with my brain.

Of course, I did a wonderful job with hiding the entire ordeal from Dino. I told him I won.

"Eh? Uh, Squalo, how come you're using your right hand?" Dino asked. I had just gotten out of the hospital, and Dino offered to buy some coffee. Okay originally he offered for gelato, but I was not in the mood for something cold and sweet at the moment. I needed something not as solid. After a long while of eating nothing but hospital food, I wanted coffee.

"Hrm? What about it?" We were right now on our way back to the academy.

"Well, you're left handed, aren't you?" Dino asked for a clarification. Well, at least the kid was able to notice that. Once again, Dino has over exceeded my expectations.

"It's... training," I said. Dino stared at me, as expected, drawing a blank. "After the battle with Tyr, I've decided that I should be able to use both hands in battle. Restricting myself to just one hand could cost my life. I would tell you the same, but you have trouble with just using your dominant hand..."

"Hey, no need to be harsh," Dino complained, but then smiled again. "I just can't believe you actually did it. Killing Tyr, I mean. I've heard that he came from a long line of great warriors, and was really tough. Not that I doubted you, I was just worried you'd get real hurt. I knew you'd win."

"You really have that much trust in me?" I looked at Dino with a questioning look.

Dino smiled. "Well sure, you're my only friend." Of course. Soft Dino. How he'll become the boss of any mafia group, I'll never know. However when that day comes, I'll have to learn to have a bit more trust in him at least a little more.

I smiled and elbowed his arm. "Come on, let's get going, it's about time for your training."

* * *

A few days passed, and I was still training Dino. However, the day drew closer and closer. The day we'd leave the academy. He would have to take over the Cavallone Famiglia. I hope he would be able to do well on his. I had my doubts here and there, however he was starting to show some improvement in his training. The number of times he's tripped over his whip has dropped by 7 times, it was a start. I'm sure that when he becomes the boss, he would start getting better, because then he'll see that he has something to fight for.

So Dino would get stronger and finally make something out of himself. So what was there for me in the future?

"Trash."

Well there was that. I turned over to Xanxus. I think my battle with Tyr had either boost my pride or it made me a loony, because now I felt no fear when I turned to face Xanxus. In fact, there was a pretty big grin plastered on my face. I was feeling pretty good, maybe it was the large amounts of coffee I was drinking ever since I got out of the hospital.

"Looks like you've done your part of the deal," Xanxus scoffed. Right, the plan. We were currently standing on one of the outer decks, I was staring out into the view and Xanxus was at the entrance.

For some reason I had a thought. I thought back to my childhood. The old neighbourhood I used to live in. The shops that were there. The semi-livable houses built. Then I remembered Keith. I hope he was doing well. Something I remembered about Keith was his hair. He pledged that he would not cut his hair until he found his true parents. Back then I thought it was pretty stupid, but now...

"I won't cut my hair," I said, forgetting that Xanxus was standing in front of me. He gave me a questionable look, as if trying to ask me just what the Hell I meant by that. My smiled on widened, "Voi! Xanxus! I swear! I won't cut my hair until that plan comes into effect!"

"Yeah." He said simply. Clearly he did not give a glorious fuck.

"You should swear too. Don't cut your hair." Okay perhaps I was going loony.

Xanxus scoffed. "How stupid. Did you think you could be useful with the arm the Sword Emperor made useless?" Xanxus stared at my bandaged limb. Unlike Dino, Xanxus surely did not have trust in me. For starters, he thought that the Sword Emperor had cut of my hand.

"Voi. Don't misunderstand. I threw away this hand to understand the technique of the Sword Emperor, who was missing that hand." I looked at him dead-on with a hard glare like when we first met. "That's the strength of my resolve to go along with you." Even after that, Xanxus did not look impressed, so I backed up. "Just watch, Mr. Heir. One day, you'll be grateful that you made me your ally."

"Hmph," Xanxus turned around. I guess our little talk was over. I thought he was going to leave, but then his gruff voice came. "Follow me, scum." I had no idea where he would be taking me, but I followed anyways. I was in no position to argue, and to be truthful, I was a bit curious in what he wanted to show me.

I followed him back into the academy building. We descended the stairs to the main foyer, and left through the back entrance. We left the property and I followed Xanxus on a rather long walk. Eventually, he led me all the way to a rundown factory. It was all rather suspicious, but I followed him without any reluctance. I had to learn to trust people, especially if this plan was ever going to be executed.

We walked inside, which was where Xanxus finally stopped. He turned to face me. "You said you wanted to see the team, well there." He looked over towards the darker part of the factory. I followed his line of vision, and saw the group of people, somewhat close to our age.

"My my, is this the new member you've been talking about, Xanxus?" A rather flamboyant looking man smiled. His hair was strange, it was like a deflated Mohawk. As well, even in the dark, the man wore a pair of glasses.

"Hmph, do we really need the likes of _him_ in our team, Boss?" Another man said. He was already beginning to piss me off with his attitude. His outlook was nothing but strange as well. He had piercings and a strangely cut beard.

"Ushishishishi... Oh goody, a new play thing~" This time it was a boy, much younger than us. His hair was blonde, and was short, however his front bangs were able to cover his face. He looked and sounded like a real menace. On top of his head was a small silver tiara.

"Xanxus, is this really the best investment?" Even more surprising, there was a toddler in the team as well. He wore a black cloak which hid most of his head, leaving only his mouth and cheeks visible. However, I did not doubt that he held great power as well.

Xanxus simply scoffed. Suddenly, Xanxus pointed a sword at me. I flinched slightly when I saw the tip of the double-edged sword close to my nose. At a closer look, Xanxus was not exactly holding the sword. The sword was attached to an artificial hand. I realized then it was for me. I smiled and took it from his grasp.

He then turned so that was facing all of us. "Listen up! This is the new Varia. Together, we will take over Vongola."

* * *

Nico: And that's it! Whew! I'm really proud of how this chapter ended up. Alright then

There's a couple notes:

1. A phrase I found amusing from Dreamworks' **How to Train Your Dragon**

2. This is me whenever I try new food. I analyze it. It's a quirk about me.

3. The character Tyr is based off the God of single combat, victory, and heroic glory in Norse mythology, **Týr**. He bears some striking resemblances, since **Týr** is portrayed as a one-handed man. The difference is **Týr** lost his right hand and Tyr lost his left hand. I also read that **Týr** also wields a spear instead of a sword, which explains why his sword looks similar to a spear. Since they seemed so much alike, I convey Tyr as a Norwegian man.

4. This is Attaco di Squalo.

5. This is Zanna di Squalo.

6. This is Scontro di Squalo.

**Important message about the last chapter!** As I remember saying at least once before, this story will only be ten chapters long. Since this is chapter nine, that means the next chapter is going to be the last one.  
I have a poll up on my profile that will let you, the readers, determine what kind of ending this story will have. I already have a couple votes, and I already have a slight idea on the final chapter, but there's still room for the final ending. So please: vote for your preferred ending!

As I have school in less than a week, I may or may not be able to finish the final chapter before school starts. However if I get enough votes to show a _clear_ winner, then I may be able to finish it! So just a heads-up, when school starts in a week from now, expect that I probably won't be uploading anything much.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for reading!

Please Read and Review!


	10. Forever Free, Forever Me

Nico: Welcome all readers! Today is the day Requiem of Rain is finally concluded. It brings tears to my eyes actually. This story was my first story upon returning to FanFiction, and now I've finally finished it.

I should clarify one thing though, this is a very, very, very big chapter. I had all these ideas for this chapter, that I did not realize just how long this chapter would end up being. I also tried to keep in mind what everyone wanted, from the poll and the reviews.

So without further ado, I hope you all enjoy the final chapter of Requiem of Rain!

**I DO NOT OWN KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN!**

* * *

**Forever Free, Forever Me  
**

One explosion. That was all it took. Just one blast, and all peace had gone and the coup d'état had started. The explosion was only a tiny bit of terror that we had prepared to bring upon the Vongola base. The explosion was a product of Levi's, the jerk with the strange facial hair and piercings, special move. Using parabolas, he was able to channel the power of electricity, and blow through the wall. I had to admit, while he was a jerk, that was pretty cool.

Once the explosion rang, that was our cue to get moving. There were five parts to the Vongola base, the entrance foyers, the inner foyers, the outer area, the lab, and of course the inner chambers, where the Vongola Nono was. There were six of us, so we all split up into one of the different areas. It was vital that all five parts were under our control. If just one of those areas were protected by the soldiers, we'd be dead within seconds. We all had our parts as we had determined in the numerous meetings before the attack.

* * *

"Since there are five of us, I suggest that we split up. One of us in each area," I was the one who suggested the plan. We were in the abandoned factory, with scraps of paper across the ground. All of them, rejected plans from other members, crumbled, and some burned by Xanxus.

"That's crazy," Leviathan, or Levi for short, said. I seriously hated this guy. He was a pain in the ass and always disagreed with me. He was like some sort of teacher's pet to Xanxus, although Xanxus didn't give a damn about him. If it were anyone else, I'd probably pity him. However, I could not help but find his position with Xanxus humorous. "This plan would work if we had more members, however one of us cannot hope to defeat several Vongola soldiers. I don't even see why we need members in _all_ five areas. The outer area and the entrance foyers aren't the source of any _real_ threat."

"I don't know, I think Squ has a point," Lussuria said. I was not quite sure how to really describe him. He was freaky. His tastes were strange and he called himself "Varia's Mama" when he was a guy. He was also very feminine. He was a great fighter though, knowing Muay Thai, which made up for most of his faults. He was very flamboyant and strange, but hey, to each their own. However I wish he would stop calling me Squ. "If we had a member in each area we would technically be able to capture the entire base."

"However it will be rather risky," Mammon said. I could not begin to understand him. He was a toddler, the youngest of us all, and yet he was probably the only one who thought things through. He was a sneaky little bastard though. Whenever money's on the line, he never loses a bet. For a tiny thing, he's got his mind fixated on money. However, he wasn't too bad. "Having a member in each area is a good idea, however there is the possibility of one of us getting killed. As long as there is one area not under our control, we're dead."

That was the reason why I had suggested the idea. I had thought about it for a while and came up with the conclusion. For example, if we left the outer area out of our control, the Vongola soldiers could easily just evacuate the building, lock us in, and destroy the building with us inside. That was one of the few things that could happen. Failure and death was definitely not an option.

"Ushishishi… but there are five areas," Belphegor snickered. This kid really annoyed me. He was a kid, but he had the bloodlust of a madman. He was ever so prideful of himself, calling himself a "prince" and calling us "commoners". It was because he called himself a prince that he never really did anything unless it was killing or bothering me for his own enjoyment. I was not sure who to feel worried for on the day of the attack, the kid or the people he'll be killing. "There are six of us, and five areas. That means there will have to be a group of two. Ushishi, if so, then I want to partner up with Mammon."

"Don't decide that by yourself," Mammon said, he sounded exhausted. Although Belphegor was the older of the two, Mammon seemed to be the "adult" between them. The two together was a spell of mischief. Perhaps it was because they were the youngest team members, or perhaps it was because they both hid their eyes from view, or some other reason. While Mammon grew tired of Belphegor's childish antics, the two seemed like good friends, at least more so compared to the rest of us.

"I know," I said, responding to Belphegor's statement. "However, I was thinking that the group of two would be Xanxus and another one of us."

"Hrm?" Xanxus, who was usually quiet during these meetings, gave me an angry look. The other members must have also noticed this and were a bit surprised. Throughout the other meetings with their plans, Xanxus stayed quiet in his seat. He would stare at the plan outlines with absolute boredom painted on his face. When the meetings were over, if the plan was absolutely terrible, he'd take the plan outlines and burn them to ashes. However now he looked like he was about to burn me. "I don't need trash to slow me down."

"Yes however, you're going to the inner chambers. There's absolutely no doubt that _that_ particular area will be heavily guarded. If you receive even the slightest injury, it will affect you through your fight with the Vongola Nono. The entire point of this is that you gain the title of Vongola Decimo, but if you have sustained so many injuries pre-battle, you'll have put all our efforts in vain."

The entire factory went silent as Xanxus and I stared off. I had long lost my fear of him, so I did not feel a thing as I challenged him on. He was intimidating, and I still revered him, however I knew when to step up. With him as Varia's leader, I was then appointed as the Second-in-Command. None of the other members would ever anger Xanxus, they knew better. However, I had already lost most of my sanity, so fear is just a memory to me now.

"Fine," Xanxus eased up and leaned back into his chair. By the way, his chair used to have armrests on the sides, until he burned them out of anger. He then said the chair looked hideous with the scorch marks. We had to remove the armrests, before Xanxus would sit on it again. He could be such a stubborn little prince sometimes, not like Belphegor though, he was a lazy little prince.

"So all's left to decide is: who will take which area and who will go with the boss," Lussuria smiled.

"I will go with boss," Levi stood up. It sort of freaked me out, how Levi was so totally obsessed with Xanxus. Xanxus always gave him the cold shoulder and always made fun of him. If it were me I'd have ditched the fixation long ago. This guy… he was pitiful, just not to me.

"I don't really think that's a good idea," I said. I found Levi to be a pain, annoying, and it was hilarious to laugh at his misfortune. Levi hated me, which only led me to hate him. Then again, Levi hated just about everyone, but Xanxus. Not-so-little suck up. As such, Levi was now giving a death glare, but I never took it seriously. "The reason why is because your attack… 'Levi Volta', requires a rather large radius to spread out your parabolas. The inner chambers can get pretty cramped, so your attack may not be effective on the inside. It would be a better idea for you to take on the outer area, that way you have a large area to spread out your parabolas, and a large range of people to dispose of."

"Squalo's got a point there Levi," Mammon nodded. "Your attack may even prove to be disastrous inside the building. We can't have you bringing the walls down, you'd kill us all…"

"Ushishishi… you just got schooled by the new guy," Belphegor snickered. One thing I liked about Belphegor, whenever he wasn't bothering me, he was bothering Levi, which was always a good laugh.

"I agree," Xanxus spoke, and silence returned once more. It was going to get old if things got silent every time Xanxus spoke. "Levi, you will take the outer area."

"Y-yes boss," Levi looked a bit disappointed. I was about to burst from all the laughter I was holding back.

"I think I'll take the entrance foyers," Lussuria smiled. That was rather bold of him to say. The entrance foyers were where the Vongola soldiers were definitely going to be in once we make our way in. I asked him if he was sure. He would be taking a big hit for all of us. However Lussuria waved his hand and giggled, "It's alright Squ! When the Vongola soldiers see me they won't even think of me as the enemy just yet. They'll be fooled by my natural charm and beauty!"

Of course. However, I guess it would work. Lussuria was pretty fast. So, once we alerted the Vongola of an attack, Lussuria would rush over to the entrance foyers, and meet up with the Vongola soldiers. He would trick them and catch them off guard. It sounded pretty good.

"Then that leaves the inner foyers and the lab left," I said. "The lab will be a priority to get rid of. As long as the lab is up, they will be able to track us down. We need someone who will be able to do a thorough job of it."

"I'll do it." Mammon said as he raised one of his small, chubby hands up. "I'll be able to take care of the lab. I'll use a couple tricks here and there and they'll fall right into my hands."

"I'll take the inner foyers then," I said. "The inner foyers are enforced with defense mechanisms, that will lock outsiders out and insiders in. I can simply…" I was interrupted before I could finish.

"No," Xanxus spoke again. He pointed a finger at me, looking me dead in the eye. "You're coming with me, scum."

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow towards our boss. Surely he was not serious. "Xanxus, the inner foyers have defensive walls between each hallway. Plus, with Belphegor's knives, you can take out any opponent that tries to get in your way to the inner chambers."

"No," Xanxus repeated. "Belphegor will take the inner foyers, and you are going to be my shield for when I get pass the inner chamber." Of _course_. _I'm_ the meat shield. Sometimes I wonder if Xanxus uses me to vent his anger on, because I'm the only one who dares to face him.

"Fine, whatever," I said. "Belphegor will take the inner foyers. So that leaves Xanxus and I to storm the inner chambers. It's going to be difficult, but we did not join Vongola's elite, independent assassin squad because we thought it would be easy."

"I joined because it would be fun, ushishishi~" Belphegor giggled.

"I joined because of the money," Mammon added. The young duo strikes again.

* * *

So that was the plan we all decided upon. Of course, Levi was displeased that I was going with Xanxus, but hey, I can't help it if Boss hates me and ignores him. I would trade places with him any day. In case one day Xanxus ever lost his mind and wanted to kill one of the Varia members closest to him…

So once the explosion sounded, we all split up. Levi was the first one to leave. After he created the hole in the wall, he ran over to the outer area. I honestly never saw him run before, until that day. It was quite the sight. Then Belphegor and Mammon left through the hole in the wall, as Xanxus and I followed Lussuria to the front entrance.

We followed behind Lussuria, as the point was for the Vongola soldiers to see a fellow ally under Vongola. Lussuria led them on at first, until he took them out with a couple punches and kicks. Once the soldiers were done, Lussuria gave us the "okay" and blew us a kiss as we continued off. Like I said about his character: strange.

As we hurried over to the inner foyers, we passed by several windows. Through them we saw Levi using his Levi Volta, taking out a crowd of Vongola soldiers with one hit. He sure looked like he was enjoying himself. We kept on and eventually we met up with Belphegor. The defensive walls were already down, however they were all damaged. Belphegor had cut through the meter thick steel walls. As well, he was surrounded by several Vongola soldiers, all dead on the ground.

"Ushishishi…" Belphegor giggled in his sick glee. How an eight year old could hold this much power, genius, and cruelty was beyond me.

Belphegor had opened up the inner foyers for us to cross through, so we passed the inner foyers. As we went on, we passed a room, it was the lab. There was the sound of water flowing, and screams. Mammon was probably hitting them with a pretty little illusion to cause so much mayhem. I was not sure how but I was kind of impervious to mist illusions for some reason. I would see them, but I could also see through them. I have no idea why.

Once we entered the inner chambers, it was my time to shine. I smirked as I took out my sword. I respected the man behind me. While he was a pain to put up with, I had to make sure nothing got past me. When we were ready, we headed onwards. It was as I expected, there were already guards here. They jumped out from behind walls, they dropped from the ceiling, and some tried to attack us from behind, but I got them all. As much as killing was a thing I was still new to, it seemed to come to me like sword fighting. It seemed so natural, like breathing. That only pushed me further.

"I won't allow you to go any further!" I stopped. There before me was one of the guardians of the Vongola Nono. I seriously was not hoping to fight one of them. However, he was the one thing in the way of the Vongola Nono's chambers. Once we got through him, Xanxus would take over.

"Why…?" he asked. "Why would you turn against Vongola?" I just needed to get past him.

I held out my sword. That was all the answer I would give. The guardian grunted in disapproval and took out his weapon. While his face showed that he disapproved the battle, the fact that he drew out his weapon show that he approved of it.

I dove in for the first attack. I needed to finish this. I swung my sword in an overhand motion. The guardian blocked it and pushed me back. I landed back on my feet before rushing back in. Through the battle, he played the defensive role, not even putting up a fight. He could be trying to pinpoint my blind spot, but it did not seem like that. He just looked me in the eye, as if trying to ask me "Is this what you want?" I snarled and pushed him against the wall, unblocking the way to the door.

"Go Xanxus!" I yelled, forcing the guardian against the wall, leaving the doorway open. "Hurry!" Xanxus ran for the door.

"No!" I felt something push into me, as the exclaim rang out. The guardian sidestepped around me, to cover the way to the door and block Xanxus out. Xanxus stopped before the guardian. I did not see what they were doing, they were behind me. However, I knew what I was doing, and I knew what was going to happen.

The guardian's scream rang in my ears. I did not see it, but I heard it from his screams, and from the sound of his body falling to the ground. The artificial hand I had gotten from Xanxus, which Xanxus made, was attached to a sword. Even better, the artificial joint that joined my hand and wrist together could turn 180 degrees, to attack anything behind me. That was just what I did, all for a good reason though. Seconds earlier, he stabbed me with a dagger to get my attention off him so that he could block the door.

Ow... Pain hurts…

"Hey Trash, you still alive?" Xanxus asked me. The question would normally sound like the asker was worried. However, I doubted that Xanxus had the capacity to worry. I smirked and removed my Varia jacket to look at my wound. Ach, the blood had begun to bleed through my white shirt. I took the jacket and tied it around me, to put pressure on the wound.

"All good…" I said. "Just need a little rest." Even though I said that, I followed him into the Vongola Nono's chambers. The rest was rather foggy in my memory, but at the same time, clear as day. This was Xanxus's battle, and I had no purpose to fight with him. When we got in, I hid behind a column, hoping to get some well needed rest.

"Tch, going unconscious at a time like this. Worthless piece of trash," was what I heard from Xanxus. Seriously, for a smug bastard, he could not see that I was still conscious? It was that or I looked so bad that it seemed like I was unconscious.

However, what _really_ shocked me was what happened shortly after the insult.

"Don't die on me, scum." I learned something that day. Xanxus _does_ have the capacity to worry, but no one ever believes me, and I thought it would be safer to never mention it to Xanxus. After saying that, I heard Xanxus's footsteps as he walked out of hiding. "Hey old man!"

I cannot really describe vividly what happened next, as I was too exhausted to actually see it. However I was able to hear it. I heard the sound of fire crackling and the sound of furniture and various other objects in the room being destroyed. The smell of smoke was everywhere, I was glad I did not suffocate. Xanxus sounded angry, while his old man sounded pretty calm.

"Shut up! You know better than anyone else!" Xanxus yelled in response to his old man asking him why he would do all this, bring Varia against Vongola, try to destroy the Vongola base, and take the lives of so many. What... what did Xanxus mean by that? "I'm not...!" I froze as he finally answered.

"I'm not your real child!"

So… that was what he meant when he said he was going to _become_ the Vongola Decimo. However still, he could not be serious. Is it not impossible for someone without the blood of Vongola to take over Vongola? Just what was Xanxus thinking?

"Why did you keep quiet about it, the fact that I couldn't become the boss of Vongola?" Xanxus continued voicing his rage, but I was no longer paying attention. Xanxus was not the Vongola Nono's son, which meant Xanxus did not have the blood of Vongola. No matter what, Xanxus could never become the Vongola Decimo. It was all a shock.

Then I heard Xanxus exclaim. A blinding light poured across the room. All I heard was Xanxus yelling, "What is this technique?" I heard a crackling noise, not the kind from fire, but one that sounded like ice. Eventually Xanxus's exclaims died down, and there was silence in the room. I sat there breathing deeply, trying to calm myself. I could not help but notice the temperature drop in the room, my breaths were even visible.

I poked my head out to see. There was Xanxus, completely encased in ice. Xanxus, our boss, was defeated.

* * *

I don't know why, and I don't know how, but I did know that it pissed me off.

One would think that for creating the largest coup d'état in Vongola history, we'd be sent to death. We were not, which angered me. Any normal person would be relieved at the fact they get to continue on with their life. However to me it was like we were given a slip of mercy and let to run wild. The coup d'état, now known as the Cradle Affair, was blamed on Xanxus, who was the only one of us to receive any such punishment. He was frozen in ice, and was heavily guarded in the basement of the decrepit Vongola Base.

Xanxus became the villain in the event. Varia, although we had evenly participated in the destruction, was said to have been simply following orders. They believed that we had nothing to do with it. They believed that it was just Xanxus who led us to the Cradle Affair. What did they know? We were a part of the battle. We followed our orders, only because we _wanted_ to. We were not forced.

But there was nothing we could do now.

With our boss... out of commission, that left us with nowhere left to go. We were still Varia, and we were still a part of Vongola. We were allowed into the basement of the Vongola Base, to see Xanxus. However, we were not allowed to bring weapons of any sort when we entered. Even while we had left our weapons, the guards watched us carefully in case we had some plan up our sleeves to thaw the ice.

The first time we went, the guards tried to chase us away, but the Vongola Nono gave us permission to enter. I understood why Xanxus would feel so angry towards him. However, when I saw him then, he was not like the man Xanxus described. He knew what we were and what we did, however he simply smiled and let us through. I do not know how to describe it, that smile on his face... it was like the smile you'd receive from a proud parent. I did not understand it though.

We dropped off our weapons at the entrance. The guards gave Belphegor strange looks as he dropped several knives and wires on the floor. I was reluctant at first to leave my sword, since it was a hassle to detach it from my hand, but eventually I left it behind. We descended down the stairs and into the basement. It was surprisingly colder, and the only thing in the room was the ice that held Xanxus, sealed by four walls, chained together.

"Boss..." That seemed to be all the vocabulary we knew that day. We were all mature enough not to break down on the floor and cry like a wuss. There was no laughter coming from anyone, no sarcasm, and no arguing amongst us. We all stood before the seal that locked away our boss. We all wanted him out. We all would not stop until he became the Vongola Decimo. The others did not know everything, not like I did. They still believed Xanxus could still become the Vongola Decimo. I did not have the heart to tell them. No, it was not something _I_ should be saying.

When we left the base, we were all the same. Nowhere to go, and the silence was annoying me. I kept wondering. Something just did not add up. Xanxus lived with the Vongola Nono, but he was not his son. Xanxus himself seemed to be sure that he was the Vongola Nono's son, until... one day he found out he was not. So then, who _was_ Xanxus?

I had to know, but I could not do it alone. I had plenty of things to do. I needed to find out about Xanxus. Also, as Varia's Second-in-Command, I have to take over Varia for the time being. So I better get started then.

"VOI!" I yelled at the rest of the Varia members. They all turned to me. It was time for me to take charge.

* * *

Before I could get started with Varia, there was one thing I had to do before I did so. I had to get permission from the Vongola Nono, since Varia seemed to be under surveillance. Apparently, he was invited to the event, and decided to allow me to tag along, although the guards with him seemed displeased about me joining in. What could an assassin have to do with the Cavallone Inheritance Ceremony?

There several members of other mafias there. They were all dressed in suits, looking their best. Vongola Nono let me borrow one of Xanxus's suits, I felt uncomfortable in it. It fit me, but it felt strange to be wearing his clothing. It smelled of ashes and smoke. I of course was on my best behaviour. I followed the Vongola Nono, and spoke not a word. I'll be honest I got bored and tired, but I was able to survive through to the end.

"Squalo? Is that really you?" The event was over, and we were about to leave, however I was waiting for someone. That someone finally ran over to me, excitement glittered in his eyes. "Ohmigosh, I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Yo," I smiled. I wanted to say his name, however I was not sure if I was really in the position to do so. The clumsy, bullied, and annoying little kid I used to share a room with, was now the tenth boss of the Cavallone Famiglia. By position, he was now over me. Even if we were friends, it would be disrespectful.

I guess Dino must have gotten some sense during the time we were separated, because Dino seemed to notice how I was feeling. He then asked for a little privacy, so that we could talk together. The Vongola Nono nodded and said he would wait for me. Dino and I headed out of the building to talk.

"So... I heard about what happened in the Vongola Base," Dino said. As he said this, he dared not to look at me. "Xanxus... and you... I just want to know... why Squalo? Why did you end up going with Xanxus? I don't believe that you would blindly follow his command like the stories are saying. You're not... like that. You're smarter and stronger than that. The only reason I can think of is that you went... willingly."

I couldn't help but chuckle and smile, which finally brought Dino's eyes to me. "You've grown a lot during these past six months, Dino. You're right, I followed Xanxus willingly. I don't know how to explain it... but there's something about being in Varia that just feels right, like I'm _supposed_ to be there. The fact that I'm still alive is further proof of it. I'm sorry I kept it a secret from you, but it wouldn't look good on the Cavallone Decimo."

"B-but Squalo... what are you going to do now?" Dino asked. "As far as I know, Xanxus is sealed away, and that leaves you in charge of Varia for the time being. However, what... what do you expect to do? What are you aiming for now?"

"First... I have to watch over Varia for the time being. That and I have some other various other errands to get to. What about you, Dino? What's next?"

"Euh... well... Since I'm the Cavallone Boss now, I have to look over my Family. There are a couple financial problems left from the previous Boss, however I'm going to fix them! Soon enough, the Cavallone Famiglia will be a very influential Family!" There was the Dino I knew, aspiring little kid with dreams. If it was him, as long as he was careful, I'm sure he would be able to do it.

I was glad to see Dino one last time before I left. I would miss him, as he had become a close friend of mine, more than he could imagine. I hope that we would be able to meet again sometime. I hope...

* * *

Becoming the temporary boss of Varia proved to be more difficult than I thought. Levi hated me and Belphegor did not take me seriously. Lussuria and Mammon however were at least "alright" about it. Every now and then we received missions from Vongola. However, since we were missing Xanxus, it would be foolhardy to take on anything too difficult. We decided as a group that we would not take on any mission unless there was at least a 90% chance of us succeeding.

However 90% was already a great percentage, with our standards. I soon found out just what made Varia an elite, independent assassination squad. Every one of its members was powerful beyond human standards, not that I doubted them. Levi proved to be a fast worker. He completed the most missions the fastest in Varia. However he would constantly remind me that he was doing it for Xanxus. Lussuria was a sneaky hand-to-hand fighter with his Muay Thai. What made him so sneaky was the metal plate over his left knee, which acted as a shield for direct enemy attacks. As well it also caused damage on the enemy. I knew from his personality that Belphegor was sick, however it was not until I saw his true ability in battle. Whenever his "royal blood" is spilled in battle his real potential is unleashed. Mammon was also quite the illusionist. If money was the reward, Mammon would unleash the opponent's worst nightmare before them.

I eventually found that there were many missions that had at least 90% chance of success. So for the most part, we were on a plane heading to foreign countries to beat the crap out of any idiot who dared to get in our way. Then we'd come back and get paid. I've come to love this job.

* * *

Years passed since the day of the Cradle Affair. To me it still felt like yesterday. With every year, the team and I would get permission to see Xanxus. Each year it was the same day, the day of the Cradle Affair. We would go to the basement, stand for what seemed like hours and then one by one we'd each leave.

However there were times I went on my own, without Varia. I would get permission and I would go to the basement. Whenever I came alone the guards trusted me enough to let me have my privacy. On my visits I would lose myself in talk. I would sit or stand before the seal that locked up Xanxus and just talk. Perhaps I truly was losing my sanity. I would talk hours upon hours, about missions, about the team, and various other things. I don't know why, perhaps, it gave me some peace, to just talk to someone, even though he probably couldn't even hear me.

There were times of course when I came down to tell him what I had found out about him. It was difficult to get admission to Xanxus's room, however I finally was able to. His room, while expensively decorated, looked rather plain. It told me a bit more about him. There were several scorch marks, and it was clear to see that the walls had to be repainted several times.

I kept digging further, and eventually the Vongola Nono asked me what I was doing.

"Pardon me, I was just curious about Xanxus," I said.

He smiled. "I guess that means you overheard what he said in the Cradle Affair. I thought I noticed another person in the room." While he said this, he did not look like he was suspicious of me. No, he seemed like he trusted me. I would never tell Xanxus this, but most of the information I got about him, came from the Vongola Nono.

He told me how he was called down to this working class neighbourhood. A woman whom he had never met before claimed to have given birth to his son, Xanxus. However, Xanxus's mother was mentally unstable, possibly through several years of poverty. She deluded herself to believe that she had an affair with the Vongola Nono, and gave birth to Xanxus. This was all due to the fact that Xanxus held a special flame called the Flame of Wrath.

The Vongola Nono was not so easily fooled however. When he saw Xanxus's Flame of Wrath he knew from the start that it was not a Dying Will Flame. In addition, the Vongola Nono had never even met Xanxus's mother before that day, how could he have possibly had an affair with someone he never met? However, it only took one look for the Vongola Nono to make his decision. He saw just what kind of life Xanxus was living in, and with the kindness of his heart, took Xanxus in as his "son".

Xanxus believed in those words and never doubted them. His mother had told him that he was the heir to the strongest Mafia Family in the world, and now his "father" had proved it to him as well. From his perspective, he believed that he was to be the heir. He became a man of dignity and power, the kind of man one would expect to lead a Mafia Family. However the truth eventually dawned on him.

That was when his story ended. I thanked the Vongola Nono, before leaving. As I left the Vongola Base, I could not help but think of how nice the Vongola Nono was. Even though Xanxus hated him, there was a kind heart in him. The Vongola Nono had every right to kill Xanxus and kill all of the Varia members who took place in the Cradel Affair. He didn't though.

Still, I was able to understand why Xanxus reacted the way he did. Xanxus was, as they say, "living a lie". He had been brought up by his mother, told that he was the heir to the Vongola throne. The power of persuasion from a parental figure is always powerful, especially when the child is young. The lie only grew greater when the Vongola Nono "proved" it to be right. It was by their influence that Xanxus became what he is. He was persuaded so far into belief that when the truth hit him, he could only react with anger, with rage.

Now I knew, but I wonder if Xanxus knew?

* * *

"Voi!" I yelled. I could not believe my eyes.

"H-hey... Sq-Sq-...Squalo," Esther smiled at me.

"What the Hell happened to you?" It was late at night. I was on the rooftop of the Varia Base to get some fresh air. Whenever I could not sleep, I'd climb out the window of my room and up to the rooftop. From there I could see the stunning view of Italy. The fresh air cleared my mind and by the time I was ready, I'd return to my room and sleep.

Tonight was one of those nights, when I could not sleep. As usual, I climbed out and up to the roof, where I sat and stared off into the star dotted sky. It suddenly got cold so I decided to return to my room when I heard something behind me. I turned and there was Esther. I had not seen her for two years now. Now, here she was, however she was wounded.

"S'nothing to... worry about," She kept smiling. As if smiling could cover the fact that she was covered in wounds. Her nose was broken, and there was a trail of dried blood running down from her right nostril, over her lips, and to her chin. Her face was flushed, and she seemed out of breath. Any visible skin was covered in cuts and bruises, even a black eye over her left eye. What's more was that she was no longer as clear as before. I could see through the outline of her body, she was fading away.

"The fuck there's nothing to worry about! Tell me what the fuck happened!" I yelled. "Where did you get these injuries? Who did it? I'll fucking kill them!"

"Squalo!" Esther interrupted. She paused for a breather before continuing, "Squalo... I can't be with you anymore."

"What...? Why?" If she had a real body, I would have been shaking her, demanding for an explanation. "Esther, don't play jokes on me, you're my guardian, right? You have to stick with me, remember?" I did not want Esther to leave. She had always been there for me. She was always watching over me. She knew everything about me. I could not lose her... not now...

"Squalo..." Esther reached up my face. I felt like I was stabbed as her hand fazed through. She still had a smile. "You've... grown up so much... You don't need me anymore..."

"Bullshit!" I rebuted, only quieter.

"Squalo... remember what I told you when we were in Keith's house? I'm not allowed to go until I've guided you. I'm long overdue, Squalo. I was supposed to leave when you were in the academy, since you had begun making friends with Dino. I had to fight back in order to stay."

"But... but why...? Why now?"

"The guys upstairs are unhappy with me prolonging my stay. But... enough about me," Esther said, how could she smile at a time like this? "Squalo, I told you once before, there are great things waiting for you. I was able to see myself that you are happy. This life, although you yell, kill, and fight, you're happy. When I saw you together with your team, I was wondering whether or not I had guided you in the right direction. However the moment I saw you all together smiling, I knew that you were set."

"Esther... please..." There was a sound and we both looked up. The sky swirled and from it formed a hole. Once opened it began to pull us into it. Then I realized, I was not the one being pulled in, Esther was. I reached out to her and yelled, "No! I can't!"

"Squalo... there's still one last thing I need you to do!" Esther said as she was lifted up. "In six years, I want you to go to the Vongola Base's basement with Varia! However before that, you have to promise me something! Before that, you have to make one visit to your hometown! Just one!" There was a thundering noise, but the sky seemed clear. Esther chuckled. "Looks like I got them mad at me again... Do your best Squalo! Remember, what happens next now is all up to you!"

I watched as Esther was taken away. The hole in the sky returned back to being star dotted. I never got off the roof that night. I stayed there, and I hated myself for crying like a wuss.

* * *

More years passed, and I eventually decided to act on the promise I had made with Esther. Although, I was still unsure if I was ready to go. I guess however, I would never know until I went. So I chose out a day when there were no missions. I told the team I'd probably be gone for a day at most, and left Lussuria and Mammon in charge. The reason was because I hated Levi and I would never leave Belphegor in charge.

I was able to get a few rides here and there, but for the most part I walked all the way. When I got to the town entrance, I took a deep breather before entering. The place was just as I had remembered, although a little different. A couple of the shops were replaced, like the sushi restaurant I went to with Keith. It was replaced by a book store. The pathways were the same, cobblestone, which meant if you fell you'd probably scrape something. The houses all seemed the same. Some had work done on their roofs, and perhaps a fresh coat of paint. Some seemed aged, as there were cracks on windows and doors. Nonetheless, it all seemed nostalgic as I walked down the street.

Although I used to live here for ten years, I was completely lost. I had no idea where I was thinking on going, and while everything was familiar, I could not remember how to get anywhere. The years in the academy probably wiped out most the information.

"Excuse me, are you lost?" I turned around and saw a little lady behind me. She had long, wavy, hazel coloured hair. Her eyes were grey as they stared at me.

"Uh, yeah..." I said. "I just came here to... visit family. I haven't been here in a while though..."

"Oh, well do you know their address?" She asked. I could have given her the address of my old house, if I could still remember it. So I shook my head. She stared off into space for a moment. "Well... I guess I can take to the inn at least. I'd feel bad if I were to leave you here on your own."

"Thank you," I said and followed her.

"By the way, my name is Ava, and yours?"

"S..." I stopped myself. Perhaps it was not a good idea to use my actual name. As an assassin, I found it very dangerous to use my actual name in public. "Ahem, excuse me. My name is Fred McBobbert." I could not help but noticed Ava giggle quietly when I said my false name. I guess it was a strange name to suddenly come up with.

"Here we are," Ava showed me to the entrance of the inn. "This is the town inn. I work here as a cook." Ava was about to continue on, when she noticed that I had stopped walking. I stared at the building, something about seemed familiar. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh, no, nothing, thank you for showing me here," I thanked her. I decided to sign in later. I wanted to look around the town, however I would risk the chance of getting lost again. I decided to look for someone to show me around. "Excuse me, Ava, if you aren't too busy, would you perhaps show me around?"

"Well sure," Ava smiled. I spent the day walking around with Ava. She had a couple errands to run, however she was able to complete them and show me around at the same time. I was able to help her with her errands as well. She had to do some shopping for the inn, and for herself as well. I helped her out by carrying all the bags.

By the time we were finished walking around, we both made it back to the inn.

"Where should I put these?" I asked her, motioning to the bags.

"Oh, just over there should be fine." Ava said before digging into the cupboards. I placed the bags on the island counter where she had pointed out. I leaned against it and panted. I ended up carrying every bag, since I felt bad to let her carry them. An inn required a lot of groceries, too much for a little lady to carry. "Oh darn it!"

"Hrm? What's wrong?" I asked her.

"I forgot one last errand," Ava sighed. "It's much too dark now, but if I go tomorrow..."

"I can go and get it," I offered. At first Ava said I should not have to do that, but I insisted. She eventually agreed, and wrote down the directions to where I had to go. I had to pick up something, it didn't seem too difficult. I left the inn, and saw how the town looked at night. It was kind of nice to see. However I had to focus. I followed the directions to a house, and knocked on the door.

The muffled sound of someone saying "I'll get it" came before the door was opened. There was a moment of silence as I stared at the person at the door.

"Squalo!" He said. His voice... it changed _a lot_. If it were anyone else I would not have recognized it, however. I could recognize him, because he never cut his hair. Now his hair was still long and uncut, and still tied in a ponytail.

It was Keith.

"Squalo, is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me, Keith," I couldn't help but smile. It was so good to see him again.

"Where have you been?" Keith asked me with excitement in his voice. "That day... you just disappeared. I was worried that I would never see you again! What have you been up to?" I notice Keith was looking at my hair, it had grown with the years.

"Uh, I've been here and there," I smiled but then continued a little more seriously, "Sorry though, if I worried you. I... I missed you too."

"Are you going to stay, or..."

"I... I have to head back, I have... companions waiting on me," I said. "I just came here for an errand, but it's good to see you again, Keith."

"An errand... so you're helping out your little sister while you're here?" Keith smiled. Yeah, I guess I was. I had long realized that Ava was short for Avarice, my little sister. I could also tell that she did not recognize me, probably because of my hair. She had grown up so much though, and she had matured a lot within the years. It was nice to see her again as well. "Well, this is what your sister was going to pick up from me. Take it home safely, and Squalo... stay safe wherever you go."

"You too," I smiled and took the bag from his hand. I made my way back to the inn, my mood was lifted when I saw Keith again. It was nice to see my first friend. I was glad that he seemed to be alright. I was glad to see my sister now a mature young lady. I was glad that I returned to my hometown.

"Thank you ever so much!" my sister thanked me when I got back with the bag and handed it to her.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it?" Ava stared at me before taking out a small container out of the bag. I recognized it as an urn.

"You see, my mother passed away recently," Ava smiled sadly. "It's kind of a sad story. My dad died when I was seven, and my brother disappeared as well. I can only assume that whoever killed my dad, probably kidnapped my brother. For years I've been living with my mom. I had to toughen up, a bit I guess. I stopped complaining, and I stopped being selfish. Eventually, my mother got sick, so I had to take care of her and I had to do her jobs. My job at the inn, was one of her jobs. The man who gave you the urn, was the one who did the cremation after my mom finally passed away."

I just stared at my sister. She had changed so much, but it was only due to the fact she had been through so much, and it was all my fault.

"I know it may be silly, but I sometimes wonder if my brother... if he might still be alive. And if he is, where is he now?" I stared at her as she stared back at me. Her face began to redden before she looked away. "Pardon me, it's just... your hair colour is the same as my brother's."

"I see..." I picked at a lock of my hair. "It's a rare colour for people to have. I'm sorry... about what happened with your family. It must be hard on you." I continued to stare at Ava. "To be honest, my life has been pretty tough too. I ended up getting separated from my family, and... sort of recently, I lost two friends." We continued that night talking. I reminded myself not to reveal who I was. I knew she was worried about me, however, I just could not tell her.

By the time dawn came, I was already up. It had become a pattern for me to wake up early. I had to wake up early to train myself, and I had to wake up early if I wanted to survive in Varia. As I had expected, I woke up before Ava did. So as I descended the stairs to the ground floor of the inn, I left a letter for her by the reception table. It was the least I could do, to at least tell her by the written word.

I then left my hometown for the last time.

* * *

More years passed, more years of hair growth, more years of taking care of Varia, more years... more years. I tried to keep my head up, as I went through every mission, and took down every target. With every passing year something within me bubbled. It was something that not even killing someone could clear up. The fact that I had those thoughts proved that I was weak, and I had to get stronger. So strong that cutting the darkness with the ballistic fang that was my sword was doable. I was following the shadow of rage that Xanxus had left, and the fresh blood bell.

To devote myself to fighting is my fate. The fate _I_ chose for _myself_. No one can restrain me anymore. I was not the kid I used to be, years and years before. I was not some caged animal that would put up with any sort of abuse. I was a swordsman and an assassin. As I stepped into the battlefield I could feel the waving wind inviting despair. As I made my way to the target I could see the false rain spilling the sky. At the end of the battle stained by blood, I would turn and looked pleased with the corpses following behind me.

"Voooi! I will strike any intruding weakling!" I exclaimed stormed through the battlefield. "I will take you down as it is! Once I move, I can't be stopped! I will definitely cut you down! I am Squalo, Superbi Squalo!"

However as the years passed, those moments grew more frequent. I would close my eyes and find myself crawling the abyss, the mass of hatred. With nothing to see, I would hear whispering voices of those I knew. I would hear them, those who were not in the room, they would laugh at me and taunt me. The pathetic sad song that rang in my head seemed to be a mixture of all their whispers. They would disappear once I was back in the battlefield.

With every battle of every mission, I wished that the end of battle won't come. I felt empty outside of fighting. As if I can't live if I'm stopped.

However, I now found myself in the predicament, when I was outside of battle, the whispers and songs returned. It was because I was alone. During these times I would have someone there, Esther, Dino, Keith, or even Xanxus. However now I was stuck in my solitute, with no one but myself. The distant memories of tomorrow, I could already smell the flowing blood in the battlefield.

It was raining right now. I was sitting by a cliff side, wondering, just wondering. Had all those years of fighting and killing, drawn me insane? I could not even think clearly without being in battle. What was happening to me? My head hurt with all the thinking. I tried to remember why I had joined Varia and why I had followed Xanxus.

It was the rage. The rage I had sensed in him six months before the Cradle Affair. Before then I wanted to lock up the me that would kill, and now I was being consumed by it. Now I was nothing but a zombie who could not rest.

I stared down the cliff. I wonder… would there be rest for me if I died? I have ruined the life of my sister, which I cannot undo. I had to say goodbye to two of my friends so that they would be able to live a happy life without me ruining it. I have lost the one person who I could talk to, who risked herself to be able to watch over me. I have lost Xanxus, who I vowed to follow. The rage I had aquired is like a pride, but nowhere near his. Now… what was left for me to do? I could continue killing but eventually all life will disappear. Perhaps it would be better… if I…

I looked up when I heard an animal call and saw a blackbird. It was fully grown, and had a beautiful coat of black feathers. I stared at it as it landed beside me. I almost did not notice it, but I did. There was a chip on his beak.

"Chip…?" The blackbird pecked at my artificial hand before flying off. I watched the dark creature fly off into the rain. Then I remembered Esther. She once told me that a blackbird's call was a warning for danger. Esther… she told me I had to go back to Xanxus. I don't know why, Xanxus was never thawing out of the ice. I had lost faith in that a long time ago.

However, I did not lose faith in Esther. She was right about telling me to revisit my hometown. I was able to see my sister as a mature young lady, and I was able to see Keith again. Esther had risked her own safety by telling me something I should not have known. She also told me, everything that happens now is up to me. I had a choice. I could stay here and jump, or I could go to Xanxus.

Then I remembered, the distant vow of yesterday, the washing requiem of rain that had always stole away my anger and rage, and calmed me down. I stood up and stared down to the bottom of the cliff.

I chose.

* * *

"VOOOooooooiiii!" I yelled as loud as I could into our base. It was the 8th year anniversary of the Cradle Affair. This was the day Esther told me to go to Xanxus. "Get off your lazy asses and hurry up!"

I got them all up and out of our base and they all followed me as I rushed over to the Vongola Base. The doors to the basement had the usual guards, however today they would not let us pass. They said that they heard an explosion from down below, and no one, especially not us, was allowed inside.

As if we gave a flying fuck. We pushed our way through and descended down the stairs. When we reached the basement we stared in awe at the sight. The four chained walls had blasted apart, and were now laying on the ground, and the chains broken to pieces. The floor of the basement had seven scorch marks. We looked up and there was Xanxus. The ice around him was melting, and in less than a minute, he was completely thawed out.

"Boss!" The others called and rushed over to him as he lost balance. I walked over and saw the scars on his face. They must have been the product of the ice.

"Gah..." Xanxus grunted. "How long... how long have I been...?"

"Eight years, Boss," Levi quickly answered.

"Yeah, and Squalo took care of Varia in your absence," Lussuria added.

"Huh, so you stayed," Xanxus grunted, trying to steady himself. I did not know what to say. I had witnessed a miracle. I did not even know how the ice could have thawed. I could not even comprehend how Xanxus was able to survive it. He seemed to have aged while encased in the ice, but that could not have been possible. It was all so strange. "Hey, can't you hear me, trash!"

"Xanxus..." At the moment, I did not really care. Once again, Esther was right. All I could think was that Esther had done it all. She was my guardian, and now it was up to me to make sure that her sacrifice was not put to waste. I had to followed what I thought was right.

I knelt down before Xanxus. "The distant vow of yesterday, I've decided to follow you."

Xanxus was staring down at me, with anger in his eyes. I had to followed what I thought was right. I'm no longer the caged shark under the rule of man nor was I the crzed shark with no sanity. I had chosen to walk the path of the sword. I had chosen the path of rage and pride. I had chosen to follow Xanxus as the Second-in-Command of Varia. I had chosen to devote myself to fighting.

I was, am, and forever will be: Squalo Superbi.

* * *

Nico: -trying to hold back tears- Oh, I'm stuck in a glass case of emotion right now...

Well that concludes the story of Requiem fo Rain. It's kind of funny, when I start this story almost a year ago, I had no idea it would get to this point. It was just some idea I had from a car ride in the rain. I thought it would be something short and easy. I thought that I probably wouldn't even finish it. However it became much more than I expected. I even took a moment to read through my first chapters of the story, and saw just how much my writing had changed throughout the year.

I'd just like to thank everyone for reading the story, especially those of you who put up with waiting for me to update. I also want to thank everyone who voted on the poll, fav'd, and left a review for the story. Whenever I was feeling down about continuing this story, reading the reviews always picked me back up and reminded me that there _are_ people who enjoy this story. I

I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I had enjoyed writing it.

HEY HEY HEY! There's no need to fret though! Requiem of Rain maybe done but from the poll's votes it has been decided! Requiem of Rain will have a SEQUEL! -insert crowd cheering sound-  
SO! I have absolutely no idea when I will even start writing the sequel, and even less of an idea of when I will be uploading it (probably... at the latest... next summer break when I have time...) However I have started planning it out. Once again it will be focusing on Squalo, and it will (most likely) be in Squalo's point of view once again. This time as well, it will also feature the rest of the Varia members even more, and possibly the Vongola members as well!

SO! Thank you all for reading and (hopefully) enjoying Requiem of Rain! And stay tune for, drumroll please... **BREAK OUT** (because I'm punny like that.)

Please Read and Review!


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